Economists had already predicted a recession in 2020, and the arrival of a global pandemic only made things worse. Unemployment rose and companies were forced to close doors, putting many under severe financial stress. Healthcare practices were certainly not immune to these problems, so casting an eye over your billing process to ensure problems are kept to a minimum would be a wise decision.

Denied claims are a major source of lost revenue for most practices. 2021 has seen a rise in denials, making it more important than ever for practices to reduce the number they have to deal with, by making the necessary changes to their billing workflow.

Here are 4 simple steps for reducing denials in your healthcare practice:

• Verify information upfront

One of the easiest ways to lose revenue is through incorrect patient information being on claims that are submitted to insurance. The most common cause for practices failing in this regard is that they simply do not have the time or resources to check all patient information during the intake process. It may be hard at first to change priorities in such a way, but in the long run, it will prove to be a good decision to train staff to collect and verify all patient information upfront.

• Communicate patient responsibilities

Poor communication between patients and the practice is another reason your collections might be low. Placing a sign in the waiting area, or including a form that reminds patients of their financial responsibility in their intake forms are both good ways of reminding patients of their obligations.

• Staff training

The importance of the billing process needs to be drilled into every member of the practice staff. Everyone needs to be on the same page to ensure you are able to maximize your collections as much as possible. Insufficient or inadequate training could also lead to mistakes across multiple steps of the process, so every member of staff needs to be properly trained to collect all of the clinical documentation that is needed for billing.

• Make submissions on time

Something that is easy to forget is the fact that certain payers have tight deadlines within which claims must be submitted in order for payment to be received. Fortunately, this is relatively easy to avoid. Practices can simply send claims in batches in order to make sure they are all sent in time. Further, identify why claims are not being sent out on time by taking a close look at your workflows. Once these problems have been identified, adjust your workflows in such a manner that the appropriate member of staff always has time to ensure claims are sent out in a timely manner.

Read More> Top 10 Reasons for Claim Denials