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April 20, 2022 by AMS Solutions 0 Comments

Without the help of a medical biller, healthcare professionals are at risk of falling behind in billing their patients for office visits. Falling behind in billing your patients can mean a loss in total revenue. For this reason, medical billing is an integral part of every medical office. 

When a doctor’s office bills a patient for an office visit, the medical biller has to submit a claim through an insurance company to receive payments for the services rendered. Medical billing doesn’t just include data entry – it takes customer service skills, attention to detail, and expertise in health insurance.

Many doctors don’t have time to take care of medical billing. That’s why every medical office should hire a medical billing company. Medical billing companies are the backbone of every doctor’s office. Medical billers and coders are there to help you get the most revenue you can out of your healthcare practice.

What Does A Medical Biller and Coder Do?

The most commonly asked question is: what exactly does a medical biller and coder do? Does a medical biller and coder do different tasks than just a medical biller? 

In a nutshell, a medical biller does the hard work of dealing with insurance claims. It’s more than likely the average healthcare professional doesn’t have time to deal with calling insurance companies and checking on the status of a claim. Medical Billers are also the ones who follow up with patients that have past due balances on their accounts.

A medical coder uses a coding textbook to code for the type of office visit that occurred. A skilled coder will be able to code quickly with minimal to zero errors. Most reputable medical billing companies will offer both medical billing and coding services.

Medical billers and coders can specifically deal with the ins and outs of healthcare insurance. They have extensive knowledge about insurance that healthcare professionals don’t have the time to learn. 

Why Should I Hire A Medical Biller and Coder?

After dealing with patients all day (and sometimes all night), no healthcare professional wants to sit down at a computer and do a ton of billing work.

To put it simply, when you bring in a medical biller and coder, you’re taking the first step to maximizing your profits as a medical business owner. Not only do billers and coders help you with receiving payments from insurance companies and patients, but they can also give you aging reports to assess how your business is doing financially. 

Medical billing and coders are usually the ones who perform a follow-up call when a patient has an overdue balance on their account. Basically, they deal with everything and anything to do with medical office finances. If anything is not right with your finances, a medical biller and coder will catch it. 

What Qualities Does A Good Medical Biller and Coder Have?

A quality, professional medical biller and coder will have either a certification, a degree, or a combination of the two. There are multiple kinds of medical billing and coding certifications that a potential employee can have – which ones you’ll prefer depends on what skills you are looking for. 

Hiring the right medical biller and coder for your company means hiring someone who has the required education and background to fill the role. 

Common Medical Billing & Coding Certifications

  • Certified Professional Coder (CPC)
  • Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC)
  • Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS)
  • Certified Coding Specialist (CCS)

Checklist for a Good Biller/Coder

  • Has a professional degree or certification
  • Has relevant experience
  • Has references to call upon
  • Knows how to use medical practice management software
  • Knows all the billing and coding lingo
  • Knows how to use the required books (especially if coding)
  • Can promptly communicate any issues to the healthcare provider

The Takeaway: Medical Billers Make Office Life Easier

Daily office life should be easy, organized, and as simple as possible for every healthcare employee involved. Work itself is already hard enough so don’t make it harder on yourself as a provider by billing your patients on your own.

It’s not uncommon for healthcare providers to breathe a sigh of relief after deciding to finally hire a medical biller and coder. Unfortunately, many healthcare providers don’t consider hiring a professional biller and coder until they are extremely behind in their billing. 

By contacting a professional medical billing service, there’s no need to continue stressing about how to manage the billing and coding part of every medical office. Medical billers and coders are a profession in high demand and with very good reason. 

April 20, 2022 by AMS Solutions 0 Comments

Medical bills are something every person encounters. However, when you’re a healthcare professional running a business, medical bills need to be collected promptly to receive payment. 

One thing is for certain: as a healthcare professional, you shouldn’t deal with collecting 

medical bills on your own. The smartest way to deal with medical bills is to find a trusted medical billing company that can help sort out your finances appropriately

The best medical biller for you will be someone who can make sure you’re getting the most revenue out of your business. Medical billers want you to get paid, and it’s their job to take care of any roadblocks that are in the way of you receiving payment, whether it’s due to an insurance claim hold-up, or a patient who doesn’t have enough funds to pay up. 

How Long Are Medical Bills Collectible For?

Based on the data available on the official US census website, about 19% of America won’t be able to afford to pay medical bills right away. Non-paying patients are an aspect every healthcare professional has to deal with at one point in their career. When you have patients who haven’t paid the balance due on their account, you’re probably wondering, how long is a medical bill collectible for?

Medical bills are collectible for a period of 30-180 days. The amount of time a doctor’s office will attempt to collect payment from a patient depends on the amount of the outstanding balance and standard practice procedures for collecting late payments. 

It’s at the doctor’s office’s discretion when they decide to hire a collection agency to take care of the patient’s account. If it’s a long-time patient, the office may be more willing to work with them. If it’s a one-time patient who keeps missing appointments, the office may wait a month after initiating contact and then send it straight to a debt collector. 

What Are Reasons Why A Medical Bill Isn’t Collected?

Receiving a medical bill as a patient can be daunting. When a medical bill fails to be paid, it’s always because of the patient. The multitude of reasons a medical bill will be left unpaid is because:

  • The patient couldn’t pay for services
  • The patient refuses to pay for services rendered
  • The patient found a coding/billing error
  • The patient doesn’t understand the bill 

Patients don’t always ask the questions they should be asking, so it’s up to the medical biller to make sure the patient understands that they:

  • Owe a balance 
  • Understand why they owe that balance
  • Understand they have options when it comes to paying that balance

Clear communication with patients about the bills they owe can reduce the number of payments that go to a collection agency. Any outstanding medical debt is collectible as long as the patient is willing to pay something. 

How You Can Reduce the Impact of Medical Debt on Your Practice

A professional billing company can prevent the harmful impact medical debt can have on your practice. Professional billers can contact patients for a follow-up call, send any outstanding bills to collection agencies, and work with patients on a payment plan when needed. A lot of patients who can pay aren’t aware that they don’t have to pay the whole amount.

Before sending a patient’s account to collections, a reputable medical biller will attempt to see if the patient can pay anything on their account. Even the smallest amount can prevent an account from going to collections. 

There are solutions to prevent ongoing problems with patients who don’t pay up. Only a medical billing company can perform the necessary services to make sure you’re receiving what is owed for the healthcare services provided.

The Best Ways To Deal With Medical Debt As A Doctor

Although we love to think that all patients will always be considerate enough to pay the balance on their account, the real truth is patients can easily neglect a medical bill. Many patients are unaware that billing departments are more than willing to work with them.

Don’t opt for dealing with unpaid medical balances by yourself since you’ll only end up with a pounding headache. As a healthcare professional, it’s important to manage your time wisely by hiring a medical billing company. 

Luckily, medical billing companies know how to start the process of getting the money owed to your practice. Schedule a meeting with a medical billing professional to see how they can help keep your medical office’s finances in check. 

April 20, 2022 by AMS Solutions 0 Comments

A doctor’s office is best when everyone knows what they’re doing. If the environment of the office is chaotic, it will clearly show in all aspects. This is where having a medical practice management system becomes useful. 

Without a way to handle the countless tasks that make up an average day at the office, you can expect chaos on a day-to-day basis. 

Take note of how long it takes for a current patient to get checked in. If it’s taking longer than 10 minutes to check in an old patient, your health practice could be in desperate need of medical practice management. 

Anywhere your practice could be doing something more quickly, is where you need to be proactive. Life is easier when you decide to add a medical practice management group to your office. 

What is the Basic Definition of Medical Practice Management?

Medical practice management is defined as healthcare software used for completing financial and administrative tasks daily. 

Running a doctor’s office efficiently means having the right resources in place, such as a medical practice management system. Patients can tell when an office is clearly disorganized and that’s the last thing you want as a doctor. 

Hiring a professional medical billing company can help with improving the overall flow of how your office runs on a day-to-day basis. Medical practice management systems are a huge reason for more healthcare providers deciding to ditch a paper filing system. 

What Can A Medical Practice Management System Do?

The facts are this, having a medical practice management system makes running your healthcare practice a breeze. Instead of having to lug around multiple, bulky files, it’s simple to find everything you need for an appointment at your fingertips. 

Patients can easily:

  • schedule appointments.
  • send a message to their healthcare provider.
  • request prescription refills.
  • Make payments. 

Healthcare providers can:

  • view/share lab results.
  • respond to any patient messages.
  • view all patient health records. 

Front desk employees will find it simple to:

  • access/edit basic patient information.
  • schedule any appointments made via phone calls quickly.
  • update patient insurance info

Skip having to manually input everything with pen and paper. This kind of medical software makes completing daily tasks easy for everyone.

What Are The Benefits of Medical Practice Management?

There’s an unlimited amount of benefits for using medical practice management. If you’re thinking that there has to be an easier way to do admin tasks, you’re right. There’s no reason to suffer from constantly losing and replacing important paper files.

The benefits you will reap from adding a medical practice management program are:

  • Enhanced Communication 
  • Instead of having to make a phone call for a simple question, patients can send a quick message to the front desk secretary, or their preferred healthcare provider. No more unnecessary games of phone tag when the patient is trying to get their lab results. 
  • Ease of Access to Patient Records
  • In older offices, you’ll notice everything is done on paper. However, with medical practice systems, all work and tasks can be completed on a tablet, laptop, and desktop computers. 
  • Automated Services
  • Front desk employees will appreciate that patients can schedule their own appointments using an online calendar, plus it only takes a couple of clicks to request a refill. 

The old days of paper filing are over, and the new days of electronic takeover in health practices have begun. You know how the saying goes: you either get with the times or get left behind. 

Patients will ultimately begin flocking to the healthcare offices that have the latest in healthcare technology. A healthcare office that’s lacking in updated technology will not only have trouble keeping patients but also have a good amount of trouble keeping up the daily workload. 

How To Incorporate Medical Practice Management Systems

The most crucial part of every doctor’s office is the software they are using to successfully run their business. When everyone can do their job the most efficiently, clients will be happy. Happy clients mean they will be back for more health-related services. 

So you want to implement a medical practice management system, but don’t know where to start? Well, it’s a simple process, contact a professional medical billing company.

Call today to get a free audit of your healthcare practice’s financial account. 

Two young women doctors sitting on the sofa
April 12, 2022 by AMS Solutions 0 Comments

Everyone from patients to business partners wants to know that the healthcare professional they’re working with is credentialed. Why credentialing is important for healthcare professionals? Here are five valuable reasons you need to consider:

Credentialing helps practices comply with regulations

There are many laws and regulations governing healthcare, and credentialing helps practices make sure they’re in compliance. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that only credentialed healthcare professionals have access to protected health information (PHI).

Why Credentialing is Important for Healthcare Professionals?

Quality of Care

When a healthcare professional is credentialed, it means they’ve met specific standards and have been vetted by their peers. This helps to ensure that patients receive high-quality care. When you are a preferred provider for health insurance companies, your practice has access to a larger pool of patients.

Credentialing Can Increase Reimbursements

If a healthcare professional is credentialed, they’re more likely to be reimbursed for their services. This is because credentialing shows that the healthcare professional is up-to-date on their training and meets the standards of care set by insurers. You need this to get paid! When your office staff is busy chasing down payments, it takes away from time that could be spent seeing patients. It also delays payments, which can impact your cash flow.

Credentialing Can Help Practices Save Money

Why credentialing is important for healthcare professionals? The credentialing process can be time-consuming and costly, but the long-term benefits of credentialing are worth the investment. Credentialed healthcare professionals can save practices money by reducing the need for duplicate testing and by avoiding potential penalties for non-compliance with regulations.

Credentialing Helps Practitioners Hospital and Medical Facility Privileges

Credentialing is often required for healthcare professionals who want hospital or medical facility privileges. This process helps to ensure that only qualified practitioners have access to these facilities. To gain entry into top facilities, you need to be credentialed.

Why Your Practice Needs Help With Credentialing

The credentialing process is important for healthcare professionals because it helps to ensure that they are meeting the standards set by regulators and insurers. Credentialing also helps to verify the qualifications of healthcare professionals, which can lead to increased reimbursements and better quality care for patients.

Unfortunately, the credentialing process can be time-consuming and complicated. That’s why it’s crucial to partner with a credentialing services company that can handle the process for you. This will save your staff time and reduce the risk of delayed or lost payments. When you’re looking for a credentialing services partner, choose one with experience in your state and with your type of practice.

AMS Solutions is a national leader in healthcare credentialing. We have over 20 years of experience working with practices of all sizes and specialties. Our staff can help your practice with all aspects of credentialing, from initial application to ongoing maintenance.

Benefits of Working AMS Solutions for Credentialing Services

There are many benefits of working with AMS Solutions for credentialing services, including:

– A team of credentialing experts who understand the process and can help you avoid common mistakes

– A cloud-based system that makes it easy to track your applications and renewals

– discounts on credentialing services for members of our partner organizations

– A dedicated account manager who will work with you to resolve any issues.

Credentialing is a critical process for healthcare professionals. It helps ensure that only qualified practitioners have access to hospital and medical facilities, saves practices money, and can increase reimbursements. When your staff is busy chasing down payments, it takes away from time that could be spent seeing patients.

Help your practice run more smoothly by outsourcing your credentialing needs to AMS Solutions. If you’re looking for help with credentialing, contact AMS Solutions today. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and provide you with a free quote.

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