Medical Billing & Credentialing News

  Patient Payments in Healthcare are Changing In spite of a “hot-vaxxed summer,” the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, and sadly, even more robustly in some places than ever before. It’s also continuing to take its toll on healthcare consumers, both psychologically and financially. That’s one of several reasons why  it’s more critical than ever for healthcare providers to stay atop of the most recent payment trends,  all of which point to placing more control in patients’ hands when it comes to paying their healthcare bills. Here are several of the major trends to watch. Telehealth: Not Just a Fad Anymore Telehealth  became a unique solution for non-urgent care requirements during the onset of the pandemic, driving potentially years’ worth of technological change into a matter of months. Via this experience,  healthcare providers discovered that telehealth worked quite well in primary care, particularly in its diagnostic and follow-up capabilities. “You end up with conditions resulting from n

  Healthcare Patient Billing Expectations Patients believe every aspect of their healthcare experience contributes to their care, including the  medical payment and billing process . And a negative payment incident could impact a patient’s overall impression of a healthcare organization, even if the rest of their experience was positive. According to survey results,  patient satisfaction ratings fall by an average of more than 30 percent during the period when the service is performed through the billing process. So, what exactly do patients want from their medical billing process?  This is an incredibly important question, since what many providers fail to understand is that the answer to successful healthcare collections can be found not by asking ourselves what works, but  by identifying what patients themselves want from the billing process  and adjusting your processes accordingly to meet these needs. So, just what are some of the features patients want from the billing process? P

  Tips for your front end workforce Whether it’s a medical practice or any other type of business,  there is nothing as critical as patient/customer relations.  What helps distinguish thriving  medical practices  from others is the interface of patients with your front desk staff. After all, it’s here where they handle the incoming phone calls, network with would-be patients and are the  first impression when it comes to your medical practice .  When patients have questions, require further info, and so forth, your front desk is the ambassador for your practice. That said, what can a medical practice do to assure that their front desk people are up to the task? As we proclaim in the title, never underestimate the importance of the front desk staff.  Every patient ought to feel appreciated  and all staff – not only clinical staff – needs to maintain a duty to take care of your patients. Generally, front desk staff are especially high turnover positions, so it’s tough to acquire well-inf