The demands of any medical office, whether small practice or large, can be overwhelming. You can set your watch to the fact that if your clinic opens at 8:00 a.m., there will be patients lined up waiting on the doors to open 15 minutes (or more) ahead of time. With a constant influx of patients and the necessity of meeting their various needs, your medical practice doesn’t have time to waste.
That’s why just about every medical practice in the country uses some kind of medical billing software to assist in administrative, financial and practice management duties. Keeping up with the hundreds of faces you may see in a given week is next to impossible without some degree of automation.
Without a measure in place to take the heat off your staff, missed payments and delinquent accounts can quickly become the rule rather than the exception, and while medical billing software helps with payment collection, there are certain features, which are essential to the efficiency of your administration.
But just what features are right for you?
Look for one or more of the following vital components before making a decision about what will best serve the needs of your practice:
Windows-Operating System: Personal computers (or PCs) are the most cost effective equipment for small businesses, and if your software is not compatible with them, then you are doing your practice a disservice.
Electronic Claims Submission: Earlier medical billing software had the capacity to store information for quick recall and tracking, but as advancements in technology increase, your software should be able to accomplish much more. With electronic claims submission, software of today has the ability to submit claims to insurance companies electronically, even hundreds at a time with the simple touch of a button.
Multi-tasking Features: Most of us would like to focus on one thing at a time, but unfortunately, that isn’t possible, especially in the fast-paced world of medicine. That’s why you need a software system that allows you to flow easily from one responsibility to the next. Enter data, print reports, and schedule appointments, without having to abandon your responsibilities within the billing software. Any reputable system knows how important this is, and will streamline the process.
Your software system should be able to easily match payments to individual charges. Don’t be left wondering what has and hasn’t been paid. With good medical billing software, you know your outstanding balances at the ease of a glance.
Easy Insurance Billing Features: Choose a software program that can store and create claim forms based on the needs of most any provider. You should know the claims that have been sent, and those still outstanding. Is the software compatible with Medicare, Medicaid, CHAMPUS, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, worker’s compensation, and private commercial policies? What about auto insurance for personal injury cases? The more all-encompassing the system, the better off you’ll be.
These are only a few of the key features that help with payment collections in reputable medical billing software programs.
