Knowledge is Power: Online Support for ENT Billing & Coding

One of the most important departments within any practice is medical billing and coding. There are many different tasks that are done within the billing department that make it so essential to the continued success and growth of the otolaryngology office, including insurance verification and credentialing for each of the physicians on staff. The more you can do to provide support for your staff, through periodic education programs, department audits, online coding help and other efforts to improve account management, the more successful you will be.

In recent years there have been many changes to medical billing and coding, such as the recent ICD-10 transition. Even staff members who have had years of experience working with ENT billing, coding and collections require a refresher course every now and again to stay current with new requirements, regulations and software. As the office manager or lead physician at the practice or clinic, it is your job to ensure that your staff are fully supported through a combination of education and telephone, in-person or online coding help.

Improving Your Bottom Line
There are many things working against the success of businesses today, including practices within the medical industry. A downturn economy, changes within the healthcare industry as a whole, and medical insurance provider changes, making it difficult for many practices to get out of the red. One of the biggest problems faced by medical practices is not in being able to provide proper care for patients, but not being able to effectively and efficiently run the billing department to ensure a steady stream of cash flow.

Studies show that billing mistakes, either caused by lack of knowledge and training or being overworked and not focusing enough on medical billing and coding, is the number one cause of financial issues in practices across the board. In fact, American doctors are said to lose as much as $125 billion each year due to poor billing practices. It is possible to improve account management and receive the online coding help necessary to boost your practice’s productivity and success rate. Whether your team needs help with insurance verification practices or requires a refresher in current coding practices, MD Pro Solutions can help.

Common problems associated with medical billing and coding that cause losses include:

• Billing Errors – Sometimes just a small mistake can add up to a rejected medical billing claim. Today’s insurance companies have become very strict on practices uses very specific medical billing and coding. If your staff is having problems with basic coding and billing practices, chances are this is why you have experiencing lost revenue. When the claim is rejected it is sent back to the practice. The error must be fixed and then the claim is submitted a second time. Then the waiting game begins to see whether or not the new claim is accepted and processed, which can make the whole thing take months to come full circle.
• Out-of-Date Procedures – Because the rules and regulations in the healthcare industry keep changing with regard to medical billing and coding, it is important to stay on top of these changes through education, training and online coding help to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Insurance verification, proper specialty coding and other efforts really help to improve account management and increase cash flow. If your billing department is improperly using codes, particularly the new ICD-10 coding requirements, you could be losing lots of money every month. Make sure that your billing staff are well acquainted with current coding and billing procedures.

Other Options to Consider
If your billing department is really struggling or if you are doing your own billing, have another staff member doing billing once or twice a week, or are just spread so thin than you need help to improve account management, consider outsourcing your medical billing and coding to a team of professionals who specialize in otolaryngology practices and clinics. In some cases, training, education and online coding help won’t be enough. Or, you could lean on an outsourced billing option to get things back on track while your staff members are brushing up on their knowledge and skills.

When you work with a professional consultant, such as MD Pro Solutions, we can help you find the best options available to help improve account management, increase your cash flow, and improve essential tasks, such as providing insurance verification and online coding help for continued, ongoing support. Higher co-pays and deductibles, along with major changes to insurance and payer requirements, can make it difficult for medical practices to stay in business. Don’t be one of those practices that runs out of money for the day-to-day simply because your medical billing and coding was unable to keep up with the changes.

Call MD Pro Solutions Today
If you are having problems with your ENT medical billing and coding or if you just want to hire a consultant to provide you with an evaluation to help improve account management, contact our office by calling 508-946-1665. We specialize in working with otolaryngology practices like yours and can give you all the training, online coding help, assistance with insurance verification and software support that you need to get your practice or clinic operating effectively and efficiently. Call today for a FREE consultation!