Doctors, clinics, hospitals, and 3rd party healthcare service providers in Illinois stand to benefit from outsourcing medical billing & coding. Illinois is the 5th most populous state in the U.S. with a 2011 estimated population of 12,869,257. It therefore follows that there are many medical billing services in the state. Picking between these services is not always easy since some are better than others. There are several tips that will help you make the best choice.
Consider the services on offer vis-a-vis your particular needs. Go for a medical billing Illinois service that offers comprehensive Revenue Cycle Management service. The service should include patient scheduling, eligibility verification & pre-certification, medical coding (ICD-9, CPT-4, and HCPCS II), and demographic & charge entry. Other important services are paper or electronic claim submission, denial management, payment posting, reporting, and follow through on patients and insurance. Just as important as considering the medical billing service on offer is considering the quality of the service. Go for a company that offers fast turnaround time for cash posting and claim submission, that follows up on your account promptly (before 30 days aging), and that has a high accuracy (above 95%) and very fewer denials.
When making a choice, consider how much you are saving since this is one of the major motivations for outsourcing. There should be a significant reduction in your operating costs as well as a substantial increase in your revenues. The best medical billing service will provide you with a dedicated account manager. This is important the account manager will understand your systems in great detail and he/she is therefore more likely to offer a good service. Insist on a detailed MIS report each month.
A good medical billing service strictly complies with all HIPAA standards. With a service that is compliant, you will be sure all the computers are firewall protected and that other initiatives are taken to ensure sensitive company data does not fall into the wrong hands. The service should have different packages so that you pick what is right for you.
A good medical billing Illinois is one that has been in business for some years since it will have learnt from its successes and failures and one that has a well trained and experienced team. The best medical billing services offer training. Training is important because it leads to the reduction of human error in such roles as data entry, calling, analysis, project management, and project transition.