Medical billing professionals carry out an important function in the health industry for both physicians, patients and insurance companies. This brief article will discuss why these skilled workers should be critical components to any physician’s practice, as well as the medical billing mistakes every doctor wants to avoid making.

What Responsibilities Do Medical Billers Have?

Medical billing and coding companies like 1^st Medical Billing, also commonly referred to as Medical Billing Clerks, handle all aspects of the billing process in healthcare settings, most notably hospitals and in a physician’s practice. Among the tasks these men and women regularly execute include ensuring individuals and insurance companies receive bills for the specific services their clients provided, resolve payment disputes, make collection calls for overdue payments, appeal denied claims and act as a liaison between doctors and insurance companies. Thus, having medical billing companies can considerably help hospitals and physicians navigate the complex world of billing and claims.

Five Common Billing Mistakes

Medical billing mistakes can prove costly and require a significant amount of time to investigate and correct. The following are five such errors commonly made:

Failing To Pursue Unpaid Claims

There are many medical practices that forget about or simply dismiss unaddressed claims. This action often happens because information about the claim gets lost, the services listed in the claim were long since rendered or the claim has been filed in distant or archived records seldom searched. Failing to be diligent about past claims can cost medical offices thousands, if not more. It is critical to carefully review old records and investigate every unpaid claim.

Not Identifying Problem Claims

Claims can be problematic for a variety of reasons. Quite often, rejected or a delay in processing claims arise as the result of mistakes and misinformation. Such errors include but are not limited to incorrect information about an insurance provider or personal patient data and improperly written medical codes that lead to confusion about the services a physician rendered. These pitfalls can be avoided by carefully reviewing all claim reports. Ergo, any problem can be quickly identified and corrected.

Failing To File Claims With Expedience

In certain instances, claims will only be processed within a specific timeframe. Should these periods be exceeded, the possibility of not collecting on the claim exists. Therefore, it is important to identify such claims and ensure the practice formulates an efficient method of submitting them in as timely a manner possible.

Misinterpreting Key Information

In some cases, denied or delayed claims may occur because the individual reviewing such documentation misunderstood some of the intricate coding and information contained inside it. It is recommended that doctors allow professionals with extensive knowledge reading and reviewing medical claims check and double check all pertinent documentation so no errors or omissions are made.

Not Prioritizing The Importance Of The Billing Process

In some medical offices, those responsible for executing billing procedures are sidled with numerous other tasks. Under such circumstances, billing issues can be overlooked and critical mistakes can occur. Medical professionals could be better served either making billing the top priority of those charged with carrying the duty out or establishing a staff of individuals for whom billing will be their only job.