Whether you want to improve your reimbursement rates, enhance your financial performance, reduce operating costs, or focus more time on patient services, hiring a medical billing company can help you achieve these goals. But not all medical billing services are created equal and finding the right one can be a challenge. Since billing and coding are crucial elements of any healthcare practice, it is important to seek certain qualities that will ensure you are hiring the best company for your practice’s needs.
At Physician Revenue Solutions in Chicago, IL, our goal is to provide exceptional services that will allow you to maintain your practice and financial independence by having the right company by your side. Below, we’ve listed the best traits that we associate with great medical billing specialists, as well as what we look for in a medical billing company review, helping you choose the right company for the job.
1. Strong Communication Skills
It’s easy to assume that medical billers have a simple desk job, but this is not the case. Billers must regularly interact with multiple parties in the normal course of their duties, including:
- Patients
- Clients
- Healthcare professionals
- Insurance companies and representatives
Specifically, a medical biller will do a lot of talking on the phone. Patients and insurance representatives can call with inquiries about bills and accounts. A biller with strong communication skills will not only be able to articulately answer all the questions but also have the ability to clearly explain policies in order to help people understand what needs to be done while being patient and courteous, of course.
Communication, therefore, is a vital skill that good billers must possess, as they play the essential role of being a form of “bridge” between you, the patients, and the insurance companies. You can consult with PRS and determine whether your current medical billing company is able to communicate effectively and if they’re doing everything they can to increase your payouts.
2. Analytical And Problem-Solving Skills
In order to succeed in an industry dealing with codes, numbers, and people, it takes a special person with a strong set of skills to get the job done. Medical billing is like having to solve a puzzle. There are multiple numbers and codes that need to be identified and pieced together, particularly, how numbers and codes can lead to getting their claims processed. Billers must be able to skillfully navigate through these billing and coding pieces because the process is not always a seamless one. If the biller is a good problem solver, he or she can competently investigate, troubleshoot, conduct follow-ups, and resubmit claims to ensure the timely and accurate processing of claims.
One way to identify a biller with great analytical ability is to see how they resolve issues. If they can resolve even the slightest billing discrepancy without getting distracted by phone calls or emails, then that is someone you should hire. Discrepancies are often part of a larger systematic issue, and being able to fine-tune even the smallest procedural problem can lead to a significant increase in revenue, ensuring your company’s long-term success.
Analytical skills will also come in handy when determining why certain claims get denied, especially since denials are not always backed up with explanations. A skilled and experienced medical biller can apply their previous experiences with similar claims and determine the appropriate actions that will ensure payment for the resubmitted claim.
3. Experience And Training
One must have a set of technical skills in order to be effective in one’s role as a medical biller. These skills include being proficient in medical billing programs or software. Being experienced with different programs and its shortcuts will help them optimize the software for better efficiency and productivity. Billers must also have knowledge and understanding of both hospital and institutional coding, and may also have experience and training in accounting principles, spreadsheet applications, and word processing applications. They must also remain current on revenue cycle management (RCM) and billing codes which are regularly updated. With these constant changes, continuing education is a must in maintaining a practice’s performance.
Therefore, it is important for medical billing companies to have a strong portfolio that showcases their ability to deliver to their clients. At our Chicago office in Illinois, we are proud to work with a diverse group of clients representing a variety of specialties and practice sizes. We make sure to share client reviews and testimonials on our website which serves as a platform for showing potential clients how others have benefited from our services. Our positive reviews have certainly become a powerful tool for establishing trust and encouraging practices to partner with us.
4. Integrity
Medical billers work with patients’ personal information and health information on a daily basis. And anytime patient information is involved, discretion must be exercised. Medical billers must be HIPAA-compliant in order to protect the privacy of their patients and clients. It is imperative to only employ trustworthy medical billers who have sound judgment and the highest level of integrity. The last thing your practice needs is a HIPAA violation.
5. Strong Organizational Skills
Medical billing is not an easy job. Within a day, billers can encounter an enormous amount of files. There are also thousands of codes in the medical billing industry which billers can’t possibly have memorized. In order to work more efficiently for multiple clients, a solid organizational system is required. For instance, if insurance providers and patients call to inquire about different claims, billers must be able to pull out the necessary information (no matter how minute the details are) easily and quickly. A medical biller will also need to keep track of every payment made, other outstanding balances, or even records of a practice’s expenses. By having an organized system, a biller can make sure that all the information they need is easily accessible. And if the biller is out of the office and a certain file is needed, making it retrievable will ensure that work will still run smoothly and productively. Knowing where everything is filed and stored will save everyone lots of time and energy.
Depending on the environment where a medical biller works, being an effective multi-tasker is also a great skill that can be very useful – and this can only be possible if one is highly organized. Medical billers will sometimes have to juggle multiple claims and keep tabs on these claims, and an organized system will make sure all files and information are stored properly.
In today’s constantly evolving healthcare industry, the successful management of medical billing and coding can provide many advantages for healthcare practitioners. With a billing company’s streamlined processes, superior systems, and technologies, as well as a team with specialized knowledge and experience, you can maximize your financial return in the shortest time period possible. Identifying the right set of skills when assessing the best medical billers, therefore, is key. To learn more about medical coding and reporting guidelines, visit cms.gov
Schedule A Medical Billing Consultation In Chicago, IL Today
At Physician Revenue Solutions, we offer consultation services to help you determine whether a company is well versed in the industry standards of medical billing and if they can competently help you manage your business and maximize your profitability. If you’d like to learn more about how to find the best medical billing company or find out the many different ways a medical billing service can benefit your practice, we would be happy to help. Contact Physician Revenue Solutions to schedule a consultation.
