How a Health System Billing Company Streamlines billing across Multiple Facilities

Health systems often manage billing across hospitals, outpatient departments and physician practices, each with different workflows and payment requirements. As health systems expand, inconsistent workflows and disconnected billing systems can make errors harder to identify and correct. It should be noted that health systems face billing problems ranging from isolated data-entry errors to recurring issues across departments. These are missing modifiers, out-of-date payer guidelines, or delayed charge entry.

However, these typical errors maximize the chances of claims being denied, slow reimbursements, compliance-related complications, and major loss of revenue. However, it should be noted that these billing hurdles are entirely avoidable.

You can reduce these errors by opting for a professional health system billing company. These professional services have in-depth knowledge and understanding of the revenue cycle management-related complications and, along with a pool of experienced staff, can manage these issues head-on. Also, they have a very transparent operational procedure and strong accountability, thus aiding you in addressing the issue before it affects other facilities.

In addition, it’s important to identify the method by which the health system billing company categorizes the hurdles and steps taken to resolve those challenges.

Common Billing Mistakes in Your Health System Billing Services

Certain billing mistakes will have a much greater operational and financial and operational impact when they occur repeatedly across large healthcare networks. Moreover, the matter is a bit of a concern, as it has a tendency to spread across various facilities and departments in multiple states. To name a few of these errors:

  • Incorrect procedure codes or missing modifiers
  • Eligibility and insurance verification errors
  • Inactive or terminated insurance coverage
  • Missing or delayed charge capture
  • Missed approval or incorrect prior authorizations

All these mistakes play a critical role in slowing down the entire revenue flow and maximizing the chances of denials. In addition to these errors in charge capture is another significant concern, as it might lead to major financial loss across the hospital networks in the region. All these bottlenecks become extremely difficult to identify when most of the departments entirely rely on manual data entry.

On top of that, any errors in prior authorization (PA) cause additional headaches. Especially for those internal billers and coders who are dealing with a large volume of patients, there is a high chance of overlooking expired or incorrect prior authorizations.

Failure to track filing, correction, and appeal deadlines can limit the provider’s options for recovering payment. Such bottlenecks will become recurring if the teams are unable to identify the underlying reasons.

Related Reading: Health System Billing Strategies for Complex Healthcare Operations

Why Billing Errors Recur Across Health Systems

Operational complexities are one of the major reasons for billing chokepoints in a large healthcare network. Any updated payer or specialty needs must be properly understood and applied by the teams. On top of that, claims related to orthopedics and cardiology will have an entirely separate base for coding operations. Similarly, physician professional billing and hospital outpatient facility billing is completely different from each other.

You should also note that there is a specific requirements for commercial insurers, Medicare, and Medicaid. As a result, all these critical factors make streamlined coordination extremely important for any healthcare organization to expand. When every department follows a separate operational procedure or utilizes separate billing platforms which are completely disconnected from the system, the gap keeps growing.

Without a consistent operating method, an error in one specific department can affect the claim accuracy. Moreover, it will even impact on payment posting and follow up activities. A billing partner can help standardize assigned tasks and coordinate follow-ups across participating departments. These dedicated services have a pool of expert billers and coders, who are extremely capable and have in-depth knowledge of the entire RCM operations.

Moreover, if you have staff unfamiliar with recent payer policy change then these vital errors will keep on happening. Even a slightly misunderstood requirement or a minor system error might trigger claim denials and delayed reimbursement.

How Recurring Mistakes in Billing Affect the Organization

One factor that needs to be highlighted is the fact that unresolved or denied claims greatly impact the outstanding A/R. As a result, the staff becomes more entangled in dealing with resolving the earlier submissions. An indefinite payment schedule also makes it extremely tough for the finance teams to predict collections and estimated costs.

Recurring billing and coding issues can create a high degree of compliance concern. In the meantime, the clinicians might be further asked to give proper justification for the incomplete or the missing documentation. The additional organizational workload stretches the capacity of the internal staff to its utmost limit of endurance.

Therefore, a dedicated and professional health system billing outsourcing service can offer extensive support by streamlining operations. On top of that, their experienced workforce can identify the trending chokepoints and promptly take active steps to resolve them. These healthcare organizations have a high degree of oversight and ensure a continuous channel of uninterrupted communication. As a result, the billing operations are managed more effectively.

Related Reading: Prevent Invisible AR with A Health System Billing Company

What Makes SunKnowledge an Effective Health System Billing Company?

Being one of the premier health system billing companies, SunKnowledge offers:

  • In-depth payer knowledge
  • Strong denial management
  • Proven workflows
  • Experienced billing professionals

At SunKnowledge, we focus on more than just claim processing. As one of the best professional health system billing companies, we make sure to redesign standard operational procedures. In addition, we guarantee real-time support and a dedicated account manager, who will make sure that there is a proper communication channel, so that you are always updated with the current modifications in payer-specific guidelines.

We ensure to smoothen up the entire RCM procedure and make sure to cut the weight of your administrative workload. So, make sure to connect with us and observe how we bring changes with our economic pricing model.