The development of technology has always provided the healthcare industry with options to serve humans better. Not only in the medical practice but also in improving the user interface. One such development is Virtual medical billing.
Virtual medical billing refers to the process of generating bills. These bills are further submitted to insurance companies for settlements. This process is generally made by a team of computer professionals. With the increased load on the medical staff, this process is now performed remotely or virtually.
Outsourcing the billing process can lower the workload on the hospital staff. There has been a recent boom in the recent times with multiple virtual assistants available for hire. This increases the competition among the billers. So new technologies are being developed continuously to stand out. A virtual assistant for the billing process would improve the hospital’s revenue exponentially.
Advantages Of Virtual Medical Billing
Virtual processes have a lot of advantages. Apart from the obvious financial savings, the staff works efficiently when working remotely. Therefore, this saves time and reduces errors in billings. Other advantages of the virtual billing process are –
Financial savings
The obvious advantage of working remotely. This is because there is no need to pay for leave and make other contributions.
Flexible Timings
When the billing process is virtual, then the staff can work as per the requirement. The billing process can be 24×7, which would avoid delays in the process.
Improved Productivity
The staff is not distracted, as they do not have colleagues to talk with. Also, they spend less time with coffee. No gossip means they concentrate on work, making fewer to no mistakes.
Discussions are Possible
Medical professionals are always occupied. So there is always a last-minute rush when it comes to billing. With the virtual billing mechanism, no such problem would arise. All bills are properly settled on time. The issues arising out of mistakes will reduce considerably.
What Is Cost-to-collect
A prime factor in consideration for healthcare is the cost-to-collect. Cost-to-collect is the sum of the complete expenditure of the patient divided by the total cash collections in that month. This ratio should range between 2% to 3%. The billing companies are working on further lowering this benchmark. The ratio has been stagnant at this level for a long time now.
The outsourcing of the billing process maintains the cost-to-collect at the benchmark level. Also, the load on the medical staff is considerably lowered. Trained professionals perform the billing process reducing any chances of errors.
Denial Rate Management
Another important part of the billing cycle is the denial rate. This hampers the smooth flow of finances. There are numerous cases when the insurance denies the payment. Sometimes this is a result of a wrong code in the bill.
The collection of patient data at the time of collection should be proper and complete. This will avoid the hassles of collecting information multiple times. Additionally, maintaining a checklist will help in data collection.
In some cases, rectifying the bill and receiving payment takes up a lot of time. Virtual billing companies should ensure there are no errors before submitting a claim. A lower denial rate will automatically lower the cost-to-collect.
Methods To Improve The Billing Process
The billing process has a lot of new technologies to work on. Following a few simple processes can improve the billing process considerably. The billing process has the ability to boost the overall revenue of the hospital. A few tips to improve the billing process are –
Maintaining Proper Records
Collection and storing of patient data would provide an analysis of the patient history. This would create a data graph of different profiles. Additionally, this would enable the settlement of claims smoothly.
Keeping The Bills Up-to-Date
This is an important process to prevent disruptions in cash flow. Studies show that on average hospitals lose around 15% of their annual revenue every year because of delayed bill settlements. An automated virtual billing cycle would ensure adequate time for bill settlements. This would also ensure that all claims
Submitting Claims on Time
For timely payouts, it is essential for submitting the bills on time. Insurance companies take a day or two to process the payment. So if the submission of claims is on time, then the settlements are also done on time.
Helping the Patients Understand Finances
The virtual biller laboratory explains the bill. This makes sure the patient is aware of the expenditure. This also provides for better settlement rates, because of the transparency involved.
Summing Up
Virtual medical billing has the potential to accelerate the growth of the healthcare industry. This has the ability to handle 2 of the biggest challenges for healthcare professionals. The denial rate and cost-to-collect. Proper handling of claim settlement will keep the denial rates to a bare minimum.
Virtual Healthcare has the experience to fulfill all your medical billing requirements. Working remotely, we ensure all settlements are on time. Furthermore, this enables an improvement in the revenue of your hospital.