Medical billing management is an integral part of modern healthcare. After a patient visits a doctor or medical facility, their insurance gets billed. But the healthcare world is changing to meet new regulations, and medical billing specialists should do the same.

In most facilities, medical billing takes place outside the clinic. Many medical billing companies now offer their services remotely, and accuracy is imperative. A minor error can make patients infuriated. Why?

Imagine receiving medical billing errors that force you to spend many hours on the phone. As if that’s not enough, you’re forced to pay for services you didn’t receive.

The surest way to maintain a good relationship with your patients is to avoid such mistakes. And that responsibility lies heavily on your medical coding. So to give you an edge, here are four coding mistakes to avoid.

Balance Billing

Balance billing is not a walk in the park. Sometimes it’s needed, and other times it’s illegal. It is not uncommon to find health plans suing out-of-network providers for failing to balance bill their patients. The best way to avoid such mistakes is to know the law and verify the patient’s insurance before billing.

Code Mismatch

As a medical billing specialist, your team should know that diagnosis and treatment codes must always match. A common mismatch that often gets patients mad is an upcode. In such a case, the insurance company will reject the billing and the patient will be held responsible for any additional costs.

Failing to Verify Insurance Coverage

Medical insurance coverage varies widely on conditions, procedures, and treatments. It’s the responsibility of healthcare providers to verify every patient’s insurance coverage. Keep in mind that the coverage can change at any time. And sometimes, patients don’t know about it. So before billing, always double check and validate insurance coverage.

Duplicate Billing

When a patient is billed twice or more for the same service, it results in duplicate billing. This error can originate from a doctor or a nurse when they request for a patient to be billed for a service or prescription. Sometimes, it occurs when a patient gets billed for several “first days” in the facility. This mistake can be so enraging because patients may have to spend many hours on the phone trying to remedy it.

Medical billing management is not cakes and ale. It takes a good team and a great system to get things right and enhance patient satisfaction. For assistance, get in touch with Advanced Reimbursement Solutions to speak with an expert in Phoenix or Wilmington. Contact us today to schedule an appointment and get started.