How Can Outsourcing Orthopedic Billing Aid In Improving Collections?

 

A branch of medicine that mainly deals with the Musculoskeletal system’s conditions like bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, besides muscles, is known as Orthopedic surgery or Orthopedics. These systems are pretty essential for regular movement in everyday life. The orthopedic billing mainly depends on proper documentation before, during, and after the patient’s visit. A claim is most likely to be rejected if there is an error, including incomplete patient demographics entry or improper patient’s eligibility verification. Besides that, the revenue collection can also be harassed due to authorization errors and failure of knowing the insurance preferences.

Therefore, Orthopedic billing needs a deeper understanding of the services provided. Nearly 35% of orthopedic surgery claims are incorrect, out of which 25% of medical claim gets rejected. Such high denial rates can lead to compromised revenue & patient care while bankrupting your orthopedic practice.

Even though one can have an in-house billing team and train the employees, the orthopedic billing process is too complex to handle by the in-house team. So, outsourcing your billing & coding requirements to a technologically empowered medical billing company can help you reduce your stress on your team and enhance the reimbursement.

Some of the benefits of outsourcing orthopedic billing are as follows:

• Automatically check the insurance validity of the employees

If you have temporary employees or part-time employees to review the basic fact of the patient’s insurance, you may be wasting several resources. They can find out the patient’s details in no time. Hence, you can outsource the task to the billing company and allow them to do it on your behalf. One of the best things they’ll do is not make any mistakes, and even if they make any errors, they will rectify them in a timely manner, whereas the in-house team will take a long time.

• Keep the patient’s data secure

The clients’ sensitive information is said to be serving as a gold mine to cybercrime hackers. Even though one might be using the latest technology, it is pretty challenging for the computer team to stay on top of all the practices. On the flip side, outsourcing the job to a skill-based company makes the task relatively easy. They will ensure to meet the regulations and protect the essential information of the patients. 

• Enhance patient engagement and satisfaction

The number one determinant of long-term success for practice is the feedback received from patients regarding whether they are satisfied with the service and what can be done to improve it further. At times patients feel that they have to wait for longer durations when it comes to the billing process, but thanks to the outsourcing companies, the members don’t have to wait for longer durations. Also, they can offer customized services to patients, and it will make them quite relaxed about visiting the doctor.

• Adhere to ICD-10 and Coding Changes

While ICD-10 and other coding changes impact every medical specialty, they have highly affected orthopedic coding. ICD-10 code sets and newer CPT codes require that physicians document right, left, or bilateral for many different conditions, including fractures and joint disorders. These changes also demand more specificity from orthopedic practices. Payers will require your office to provide documentation of where injuries occurred.

Conclusion Having your orthopedic billing and coding handled by outside consultants can provide you with a much larger revenue stream while reducing costs. It often reduces the need for practices to resend claims denials or appeal claims denials, which are costly. By choosing to collaborate with 24/7 Medical Billing Services to outsource orthopedic billing services, you would be working with a highly expert team who has experience in revenue cycle management and medical billing. The team here is certified and trained in Medical Billing Software such as NextGen, Medisoft, Medic, Lytec and more. They ensure constant accounts receivable follow-up and prior authorization to prevent claim denials by introducing a friction-free billing, coding, claim submission and payment posting process.

Read More: IS RCM OUTSOURCING THE BEST FOR YOUR ORTHOPEDIC PRACTICE?