How to Keep Track of Medical Billing & Collections

Find ways to track medical billing efficiently.

A medical practice can not stay in business and remain competitive without understanding and receiving payments from patients and insurance companies. An August 2010 Kareo Getting Paid report shows medical billing requires attention to reduce low income and high patient collections. Keeping track of medical billing and collections, ranges from monitoring medical billing staff to controlling bounced checks to allowing payment plans. Physicians and their medical staff can work together to maintain a successful medical practice.

Things You'll Need

• Medical billing system
• Medical billing staff members
• Medical associations
• Medical claim forms

Instructions

1. Teach medical front desk staff about medical billing, so they have received general background information. An August 2010 Kareo report shows staff members should receive a short-course in topics, ranging from different insurance terminology to how insurance companies process bills.

   Review patient documents for accuracy before submitting the documents to the billing staff members. Completed forms help reduce wrong information sent to insurance companies and returned unpaid, which interferes with your medical practices success.

2. Control the number of bounced checks to help minimize patient collection problems. As a medical practice, you want to provide your patients with payment options, including using personal checks. A June 2009 Physicians Practice report advises medical practices to accept checks with the belief the patient has the funds.

   Explain your medical practices policies about personal checks, such as not accepting post-dated checks, taking checks from unknown parties and providing bounced check fee policies for patients. Work with your billing staff to track patients who keep writing bad checks.

3. Evaluate how other practices handle billing and collection practices by participating in medical associations. This allows you to find out about other successful medical practices and obtain ideas, which you can apply to your own.

   Analyze how your current billing and collection system works in case you need to change to a new billing system. Work with your medical billing personnel and find out if the current system maximizes your sales revenue and keeps medical collection problems at a minimum.

4. Provide patients experiencing a financial difficulty and uninsured medical patients with payment plan options. This decision allows them to receive medical care and helps reduce the amount of money owed to your medical practice. Types of financial difficulties can range from a child's medical care to unemployment.

   Check how other medical practices use payment plans and review your decision with your medical staff members, so each person is aware of the policy. Later, you can find out if offering payment policies works.

References

• Kareo Getting Paid: Tips for Improving Productivity in Your Billing Process
• Physicians Practice: Stop Bounced Checks

Resources

• Network PMI: Financial Management Basics