Medical Billers and Coders

  Operating costs were listed as the top concern for medical practices in 2013; however, billing and payment hurdles also kept physicians on their toes. Family practitioners also raced to keep up with changes in CPT codes which proved extremely challenging, especially for providers with weak profit margins. The majority of revenue for a typical family practice comes from the submission of ICD-9 and CPT codes to third-party payers. Therefore, it becomes essential to code accurately for every single service to receive timely payments during family practice billing. Coders while carrying out  family practice billing  need to have a firm grasp on standard primary care coding because, unlike other specialties, family practices keep facing a variety of patient problems. Time is required to study the  CPT  manual and documentation guidelines for accurate coding for error-free practice billing. An updated CPT manual will have to be ordered every year to make provide...

  Family practices across the US have been facing difficulties in revenue collection due to challenges related to medical billing and coding. Modifier omission, untimely claim submission, underscoring and inaccurate documentation may seem like minor errors; but they eventually have a major impact on the revenue cycle of practices. Our  Family Practice billing  has enhanced cash flow, reimbursements, and insurance eligibility verification  services . Demographics & Charge Entry  Services . Family practice physicians shouldn’t ignore the importance of expertise and experience in  handling billing and coding tasks ; especially as they lose 10-20% of their revenue every year; due to coding errors. Considering the rates at which family physicians are being paid by Medicare, approximately $8,396 a year will be lost if coders underscore just one level for 4 visits a day. Medicare payment cuts have tightened the financial condition for family physicians and ...

  The CPT 2015 will have approximately 550 new, revised, or deleted codes. It will also include revised guidelines and terminologies. These changes will affect family medicine physicians, cardiologists, radiologists, and internal medicine practitioners too. Similar to other medical specialties, family medicine will have to gear up for dozens of new and revised vaccine codes in 2015. It will include additions of 90630 and 90654 codes for flu immunizations. Our  Family Practice billing  services team can provide you with high-quality and error-free patient demographic and Family Practice charge entry services. The 2015 coding changes will alter the way family medicine practices report vaccinations, chronic care management services, and arthrocentesis (joint aspiration). Some descriptor changes to old codes will also affect this medical specialty. Coding Changes for Family Practice Medicine Practitioners Family medicine providers need to take CPT coding changes into ser...

  Physicians consider it unprofessional when their patients do not show up at the appointed time. No-shows tell upon the revenue, wasting not just the physician’s time but also that of the supporting staff. In order to overcome this issue physicians adopt methods like overbooking patient appointments, treating alternative patients, contacting the patient who did not show up, etc. However, it is important to understand why some patients do not turn up so that revenue and time are not lost. Our  Family Practice billing  services team can provide you with high-quality and error-free patient demographic and Family Practice charge entry services. Why don’t patients show up in Family Practice? In order to fix no-shows, we need to first understand why some patients do not show up. There are several practices that are blissfully unaware of the no-show rate, nor do they spend some time analyzing patient visit statistics to arrive at a pattern. It would do well for practices to...

  Medical Billing Challenges in Family Practice Family Medicine forms a crucial point of entry in the health care system, and the need as well as the shortage of family physicians in the United States is becoming a growing concern. Other specialties such as radiology, neurosurgery, and dermatology are more attractive due to the higher amount of compensation provided to physicians in these areas. Moreover, the looming Medicare cuts that have been postponed for a long time and are now extended to January 1, 2012, present another problem for family practitioners in avoiding losses in income. Family medicine and family physicians play a vital role in the healthcare system of a country. Another important factor is the health reforms coupled with an increasing number of aging baby boomers in the coming years which would keep family physicians busier than before and hard-pressed for time and money. Chronic Hurdles Medicare is facing problems because of Federal fiscal troubles and Med...

  Like other healthcare specialties, family practice billing also depends upon apposite and timely documentation and communication with patients and insurance payers. The doctor’s office starts the process by serving a patient and documenting the normal SOAP notes. Next, the medical coder translates the visit into the appropriate numerical codes that allow for easier communication with providers. Do keep in mind that the documentation that leads to coding also improves the analysis of services such as charges and procedures to improve your practice management. If you choose to work with a  specialty medical billing company , they can help you with practice management and coding, as well as billing. While maintaining HIPAA compliance and any other state or federal regulations, they charge insurance providers and patients. You can definitely rely on them for proper collections and billing maintenance, saving you time and hassle on the follow-up process, all while increasing ...

Since family practices are facing a lot of factors that make it more difficult to get paid, it’s more important than ever to get proactive about billing procedures. Being proactive and preventing problems before they occur can help your family practice maximize revenue, ensuring you’re properly reimbursed so your practice can continue providing quality care to patients. Every year, medical providers in the United States leave more than $100 billion dollars of uncollected revenue on the table due to billing errors, coding mistakes, and failure to stay current on medical billing rules. Here’s a closer look at the top 5 medical billing strategies you can use proactively to begin maximizing your family practice revenue. Contact us today to speak with one of our specialists about the benefits of outsourced  Family Practice Billing  management. Top 5 Medical Billing Strategies to Maximize Family Practice Revenue 1. Review your scheduling practices You may need to fine-tune the ...

  There are not a lot of us who believe that family practice physicians are adequately paid for the kind of valued care they deliver to patients and to the health care system. As an established  medical billing  and  coding organization , we regularly observe how desperately clinicians need primary care payment reform. Agreed that there is a better future for the healthcare industry on the horizon, but as of now, we have to make the best of what the dysfunctional healthcare system offers. For many doctors whose reimbursement depends in part on our productivity, increasing gross revenue is one vital element to your success. Family practitioners can protect their  revenue  stream by being equipped to provide as many procedural services as possible and also by making sure that you are billing and coding for the minor procedures that you already perform, but might not know that you can be paid for. Strategies to increase your family practice revenue Review the ...

The family practice medical service is all-encompassing and involves more than one field of medicine. Ideally, medical billers who work for family practice need to have extensive knowledge of diagnosis and procedure codes commonly used by the physician. This ensures that patients and insurance companies are billed correctly. It also guarantees that the physician receives maximum reimbursement for the service provided. Basic Mistakes in Family Practice Billing : 1. Neglect to verify their patient’s Insurance: Very often medical billing claims get refused on the basic ground that the patient’s coverage has been terminated or may not be eligible for the date of service. Family physicians often take for granted that their regular patient, whose insurance had been verified initially, stands the same every time they come in. This may not always be the case. 2. Simple inaccuracies during form filling: Often family physicians are so occupied with putting their regular patients at ease that th...

The year 2020 began with many significant billing and coding updates for family physicians. A study found that Family physicians could not bill for all the services provided in the majority of their visits because CPT codes for medical billing did not cover the services, a study found. Family practice medical billing services ensure that providers do not miss out on opportunities to maximize reimbursements. The correct CPT coding ensures a smooth medical billing process. The CPT coding system provides details about medical, surgical, and diagnostic services performed by healthcare professionals or physicians. The coding system is developed and maintained by the American Medical Association (AMA), which offers healthcare providers “a uniform process for coding medical services that streamlines reporting and increases accuracy and efficiency.” The most common CPT codes used by family physicians for medical billing are 99213 and 99214 . The CPT system and CMS Evaluation & Management ...

  Rising operational costs, changed payer policies, decreasing reimbursement, and increased compliances adversely affect the financial health of the family practice. In addition, operational inefficiencies and waste cut even deeper into profits and income. The presence of a certain amount of each factor is inherent in any family practice. In this blog, we shared ways your family practice might be losing money and prevention tips that can help you to maintain the financial health of your practice. Efficient Family Practice Billing Medical billing and coding are the backbones of the revenue cycle of your family practice. Following bad  billing practices  might create unnecessary financial losses. Bad billing is caused more often by the incompetence of your in-house staff. For example, front desk staff may fail to verify and document patient demographics and insurance details. Due to this, claims may be sent late or to the wrong payer and patients may walk out without being ...