As you consider your billing department, do you think it’s operating at peak efficiency? Is it bringing in as much cash as you think it should?
There are several signs and symptoms that may indicate an assessment – or even a complete overhaul – is necessary:
- Your AR is going up, but you are not seeing more patients or performing more procedures, or you haven’t implemented a rate increase lately.
- A significant percent of your AR is in the over 120 days bucket.
- A declining percent of your AR is new, defined as 0 to 30 days old.
- Your staff is bringing you an unusually high number of accounts for write-off or referrals to collections, especially of patients you have routinely seen.
- Your days in medical accounts receivable – the average time it takes to collect on your accounts – is over 60 days. Does your office manager or biller routinely calculate this figure and report it to you?
- The amount of staff you are using for billing and collections exceeds the average for your specialty. For instance, internal medicine or FP require relatively more employees for all billing activities, compared to a general surgery practice.
Medical group practice billing consultants can help you get a detailed assessment of your billing department. To learn more about how you can improve your bottom line watch the short presentation on A Better Medical Office Billing Department Explained.
So if you are considering using healthcare billing consulting services, look for someone who can ask the right questions and give you solid recommendations you can implement in your practice!