Do you ever look at your cell phone and know there’s about a million things it can do that you’ve never taken the time to try, or understand? We’ve found ASC Billing Systems can be the same way. Technology is advancing and these systems are powerful, but sometimes it’s hard to set aside time to change the way we’re currently doing things – even if it’s for the betterment of our business.
When we look at maximizing the use of your ASC Billing System, we may as well start with the low hanging fruit. If you’re already a technical rockstar and a billing system whiz, you may want to skip to the next blog. But if you know you have room for additional efficiency, and you’re ready to get a little more bang for your billing system buck, settle in.
In order to bring you quick, actionable information, we sat down with Stevi Louis, Lead Revenue Cycle Specialist at in2itive. In the last 4 years, Stevi has worked in 5 billing systems and contributed, in varied capacities, on at least 12 ASC’s across the country. She’s kind of an expert in this sort of thing, and here’s what she had to say:
Reporting
Do you know how many cases you had this month, how much money you brought in, or how many days your claims sit in accounts receivable? Or how about your top 5 codes, your Operating Room Utilization? These are all questions that can be quickly answered by setting up the correct reports in your ASC billing system. These reports can give you a comprehensive look at the overall health of your ASC and your billing process. Knowing your numbers is the first step in continuing to improve them.
Collectors Que
Do you know how many of your patients are on payments plans, or exactly when you should follow up next with each payer or patient? Many ASC billing systems have collector’s ques that, when set up correctly, can categorize outstanding A/R within your system into separate groups, and prompt you when follow up is due. Stevi recommends these ques to get you started:
- Outstanding Insurance Claims Que- to tell you how many outstanding insurance claims your center has.
- Patient Balance Que – to tell you how many patients owe money and what amounts they owe.
- Payment Plan Que – to tell you how many patients you have on payment plans and what their payment plans are
Fee Schedules and Insurance Contracts
Are you up to date on all your fee schedules and insurance contracts? Obviously, you cannot ensure accurate payments without having your contracts available. Loading those contracts in the system will make it easier and quicker to ensure you have received maximum reimbursement for each claim. It can also help you estimate and connect some (or all!) patient responsibility prior to procedure. Be sure to update your fee schedules in the system each time you receive a new contract.
Scheduling
Are you using your billing system to schedule your appointments? Surgery Center schedules are complex and ever changing. Using your software to schedule and update appointments ensures all parties have the most up-to-date schedule with accurate procedure codes. This will also allow you to stay on top of insurance verifications and patient estimates.
Insurance Verification
Lastly, some billing systems have the ability to execute insurance verifications and calculate an estimated patient responsibility. When insurance verifications are completed in advance of the procedure, it allows for an opportunity to collect patient balances prior to the procedure.
Are you ready to make the most of your ASC billing system? Give us a a call at 855-208-5566!
