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APPLIED MEDICAL SERVICES: AMS News Room: Articles
Keeping a
Healthy Financial Practice
By Rachel M. Mitchell, CPC-H
Are there ever days when you feel
that you are treating twice the number of patients
than you have previous years but collecting less?
With reimbursement levels decreasing physicians must
increase productivity to make ends meet. You may
be driven out of practicing medicine if you do not
keep a healthy financial practice.
Studies have shown that the majority of physicians
undercharge far more than they overcharge. One idea
has been instilled into our heads that CMS (aka Medicare)
is watching and waiting to find billing errors so
that they may fine practices. An even greater issue
is that medical practices in rural areas are subject
to criticism for their method of charging since everyone
knows everyone else in a small town. Physicians may
feel pressured into undercharging for their evaluation
and management services because they know most of
the local residents on a personal level. Physicians
must separate patient care from billing practices.
The billing staff is employed to act as the buffer
between doctors and patients. Physicians can take
the heart out of the billing practice without taking
the heart out of patient care.
Utilizing optimal codes for reimbursement will
improve office income. Physicians have every right
to code what is appropriate based upon their documentation.
If a patient wishes to question their bill while
in a treatment room, the answer is to direct them
to the billing staff or office manager. Instruct
the billing and coding personnel to make it a point
to inform patients that their charges are determined
by the documentation and treatment plan that they
are given. Distance yourself politely from patient
billing questions and let your account representatives
take care of the grief.
Reducing overhead by cutting corners on office
supplies, equipment rentals and staff will assist
in keeping a healthy cash flow. Shopping for less
expensive employee benefits and renegotiating insurance
contracts for higher reimbursement are other options.
All are constructive methods to improve finances.
Keeping a tight staff sounds negative when in fact,
if you hire top of the line personnel, your office
will be extremely efficient. The accounts receivable
should be worked constantly. The longer a claim has
been sitting at an insurance company, the less likely
it will be paid. Account representatives must focus
on aging accounts and resolve them quickly.
If every means possible has been exhausted to collect
on accounts, consider hiring an aggressive collection
agency that will report debt to patients credit history.
Surprisingly enough, people will pay their medical
bills if it effects applying for credit cards, homes
or cars.
Here are some additional ideas on cutting costs
and increasing revenue:
· Eliminate unprofitable services
· Market the profitable services
· Review the A/R on a weekly basis. Less
than 20% of the receivables should be sitting in
the over 90 day category.
· Review types of services performed. Set
up a report that will tell you how many procedures
were done month-to-date and year-to-date.
· Consider dropping payers who continuously
decrease reimbursement without willingness to renegotiate.
Ms. Mitchell is the Billing and
Coding Manager for Applied Medical Systems, Inc.,
an accounts receivable management company in Durham,
North Carolina. Ms. Mitchell has over 10 years experience
in medical billing, coding and consulting. For any
questions regarding the above editorial you may reach
Ms.Mitchell at (919) 477-5152 or at rmitchell@ams-ncl.com.
This article is reprinted with
permission from the March 2002 issue of M.D. News
magazine.
This article is copyright © 2002
Applied Medical Systems, Inc. |
