You have invested in cutting edge medical billing technology. You brought in a high priced expert to make sure the system was implemented correctly. This should start the money flowing in, unless you have a group of mediocre medical billers. You need a world class medical billing team. Putting such a team in place requires four components:
1) Installing a well-defined and predictable method for recruiting, identifying, hiring and keeping great medical billers:
The leading billing organizations recruit the best staff. A dedicated, specialized HR team evaluates applicants-applicants must pass a proprietary billing testing process assessing both skill and will. This process shouldn't be different from the recruiting process of a Fortune 500 organization.
The leading billing organizations train to develop desired quality. Junior staff members must pass demanding training programs-junior team members are developed into billers, capable of following the measured and monitored billing process. In addition, staff is trained throughout the year in latest payer rules, follow-up techniques and compliance guidelines. A dedicated Compliance Officer is responsible for all additional HIPAA and OIG training.
Part of building a great team is removing the weakest performers and replacing them with strong performers. Such action raises the bar for everyone and leads to a stronger team. Each year disciplined and measurable reviews must be given and the weakest performers replaced.
2) Focus your team members: The best medical billing processes are designed to allow individuals to specialize in specific areas such as charge posting, insurance follow-up or payment posting. Such specialization allows the individuals to become true experts capable of spotting issues quickly that billers spending their time performing multiple tasks might miss.
3) Provide the staff with solid analytics support: Besides providing the clients with continuous practice analytics focused on clients' practice improvements (coding, contracting, profitability, marketing, etc) , the leading billing organizations' Analytics Group should offer strong analytics support to the billing staff. The Analytics Group should trend and measure payers response times, rejection trends, payment rates, and other key performance indicators in order to properly focus the billing staff's efforts. They should also measure various elements of the internal billing process for continuous improvements.
4) Compensate your medical billing specialists based upon performance, not effort: Your billing department should succeed when the practice succeeds. Many good billing systems have been undermined by a compensation approach that does not give the medical billing team the proper motivation to doggedly and efficiently pursue the practice's claims. Remember to insure the compensation system falls with the OIG's guidelines.
Utilizing these concepts will allow you to assemble and grow a medical billing team that will be capable of utilizing a great medical billing process to deliver powerful results.
Copyright 2008 by Carl Mays II - 15275
1) Installing a well-defined and predictable method for recruiting, identifying, hiring and keeping great medical billers:
The leading billing organizations recruit the best staff. A dedicated, specialized HR team evaluates applicants-applicants must pass a proprietary billing testing process assessing both skill and will. This process shouldn't be different from the recruiting process of a Fortune 500 organization.
The leading billing organizations train to develop desired quality. Junior staff members must pass demanding training programs-junior team members are developed into billers, capable of following the measured and monitored billing process. In addition, staff is trained throughout the year in latest payer rules, follow-up techniques and compliance guidelines. A dedicated Compliance Officer is responsible for all additional HIPAA and OIG training.
Part of building a great team is removing the weakest performers and replacing them with strong performers. Such action raises the bar for everyone and leads to a stronger team. Each year disciplined and measurable reviews must be given and the weakest performers replaced.
2) Focus your team members: The best medical billing processes are designed to allow individuals to specialize in specific areas such as charge posting, insurance follow-up or payment posting. Such specialization allows the individuals to become true experts capable of spotting issues quickly that billers spending their time performing multiple tasks might miss.
3) Provide the staff with solid analytics support: Besides providing the clients with continuous practice analytics focused on clients' practice improvements (coding, contracting, profitability, marketing, etc) , the leading billing organizations' Analytics Group should offer strong analytics support to the billing staff. The Analytics Group should trend and measure payers response times, rejection trends, payment rates, and other key performance indicators in order to properly focus the billing staff's efforts. They should also measure various elements of the internal billing process for continuous improvements.
4) Compensate your medical billing specialists based upon performance, not effort: Your billing department should succeed when the practice succeeds. Many good billing systems have been undermined by a compensation approach that does not give the medical billing team the proper motivation to doggedly and efficiently pursue the practice's claims. Remember to insure the compensation system falls with the OIG's guidelines.
Utilizing these concepts will allow you to assemble and grow a medical billing team that will be capable of utilizing a great medical billing process to deliver powerful results.
Copyright 2008 by Carl Mays II - 15275
About the Author:
Carl Mays II is an expert in medical billing and medical revenue management. He has worked with practices and facilities throughout the United States for over 15 years. Carl is founder of ClaimCare Medical Billing Services. Read more about the medical billing industry at Carl's medical billing services Blog.
