Medical billing is one of the most important aspects of running a medical practice. A medical billing company is tasked with keeping track of all financial transactions, which can be overwhelming and time-consuming for even the best-run practices. This article will provide you with some helpful questions to ask when interviewing prospective medical billing companies to find the best fit for your practice.
1. What Experience Do You Have in Medical Practice Billing?
Any business hired to work with a busy medical office must be able to demonstrate a significant amount of past work experience. A lack of this experience can often lead to costly mistakes and general mismanagement of the billing process.
2. What Level of Customer Service Am I Able to Expect?
Healthcare providers are not known for having a high tolerance for any errors. Medical billing mistakes can often end up costing millions in lost revenue or worse. A responsible medical billing company must provide the highest level of service by contacting you directly every time something related to your account is ready to be reviewed.
3. What Systems Are in Place to Make Sure That Errors Aren’t Made?
This question is related to the customer service requirement mentioned above, but it goes a bit deeper. Any billing company worth working with will use a checklist system for each transaction to ensure accuracy. This can be done in many different ways. However, the end goal is the same, which is to get paid for every claim that you submit.
4. What Are Your Billing Rates?
Not all medical billing services are created equal, and neither are their rates. Before you decide on a particular company for your practice, find out what they charge per procedure code to get an estimate of how much the service will cost you.
5. What Kind of Support Do You Provide?
Some medical billing services will send representatives to each location they work with to make sure that everything is processed correctly regularly. This is often the best type of service for busy medical practices, as it ensures that no claims are overlooked or ignored.
According to a recent poll, 54% of insured people report being sometimes or always perplexed by medical bills. It’s a complicated, exhausting process that is often only understood by experts. Luckily, a medical billing company will not only simplify the time-consuming process but can also help to lower costs for your practice as well. This is why it’s so important to choose a reliable company with an excellent reputation and years of experience in this niche field.
