In a recent research report published by the Medical Group Management Association, 23% of aggregate patient administration’s income is credited to collection from patients. It’s an issue for some optometry practice, with 60% of respondents saying it is a significant test. It’s a much greater challenge for smaller practices that don’t have heavy monetary spending plans.
At the point when medical charging takes a revenue loss, your practice cannot afford more revenue loss from other areas such as ICD-10 coding errors and Meaningful Use requirements. Motivating patients to pay will keep on being a growing issue – with patients confronting higher hospital expenses because of increasing high-deductible plans.
You can help limit the impact and get your facility back on track financially with the following strategies:
Refine strategies to fast pace your ROI
Set aside time every month to review collections and get status on collections of payments. Get feedback from your accounts team on what strategies are working to find ways to make the collection process more effective. If not, help the medical billing and coding department to come up with unique ways to incline towards technological components.
Billing software with the ability to schedule and pull reports not only assists with ongoing performance tracking but also comes in handy when there is a need to generate custom reports quickly. Pooled with reports such as inventory and commission, you’ll gain a holistic view of your practice’s performance.
As the process for billing and collections becomes more multifaceted, optometry facilities can ease the headache by solidifying processes to ensure your practice is getting paid. Making the decision to purchase or update practice management software is a big step towards upgrading your practice’s accounts receivables.
Utilize effective medical billing software
An easy-to-use practice management and medical billing software can help optimize the collections process by providing insight into tracking past due bills, red-flagging patients whose dues are not cleared yet, and automating late fees.
Make sure claims are clean, quick, and accurate
Do remember that 65% of healthcare claims are paid the first time they are submitted; however, for those that didn’t go through, the concerned optometrist is likely to not see any reimbursement. Out of the claims that are denied, lost, or ignored, 50% is never resubmitted. To counter this, it’s imperative to catch possible denials before claims are submitted.
A software solution that is regularly updated helps you ensure that your practice has the latest resource on the latest claim denial trends. Check out for cloud-based software solutions for Practice Management and EHR that improve collection rates by increasing first pass submission rates, speeding up the collections process, and decreasing work for the staff.
Always discuss with the patient his payment option
While a majority of optometry clinics offer recurring payment plans or reimbursement options for outstanding balances, there are only about 25%-30% who offer those options at the time of service (MGMA). By discussing clearly with the patient their payment options, your practice effectively sets expectations that can help your practice achieve your billing goals.
FAQs
With 23% of income attributed to patient collections, many practices, especially smaller ones, struggle to motivate patients to pay, especially with rising high-deductible plans.
Regularly reviewing collection strategies and feedback from the accounts team can help identify effective methods to enhance the collection process and streamline operations.
Effective billing software helps track overdue bills, automate late fees, and provide insights for improving collections, ultimately optimizing the practice’s revenue cycle.
Since 65% of claims are paid upon first submission, ensuring claims are accurate and complete is crucial to avoid denials, which can lead to significant revenue loss.
By clearly discussing payment plans at the time of service, practices can set expectations and improve the likelihood of collecting outstanding balances, contributing to financial stability.
Catering to more than 40 specialties, Medical Billers and Coders (MBC) is proficient in handling services that range from revenue cycle management to ICD-10 testing solutions. The main goal of our organization is to assist physicians looking for billers and coders, at the same time help billing specialists looking for jobs, reach the right place.
