Should You Switch Billing Companies if Your Family Practice Denial Backlog Keeps Growing?
A growing denial backlog is more than a billing department problem. For a Family Practice, it can mean delayed payments, increasing A/R, more staff time spent on rework, and revenue that becomes harder to recover as claims age. But a large denial backlog does not automatically mean you should switch billing companies. The better question is: Is your current billing company actually fixing the causes of denials, or is it simply working through the same problems every month? That distinction matters. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) recommends tracking denial rate alongside days in A/R and adjusted collection rate because these measures provide a clearer picture of revenue cycle performance. A practice can have acceptable overall A/R while still carrying a significant amount of older receivables. When Does a Denial Backlog Become a Serious Problem? Not every denial needs to be treated as a crisis. Some claims may require additional documentation, payer review, corrected c...
