Costly Urgent Care Billing Practices

Posted on: 19 June 2020

People need quality care, but they often want this care available on their terms. Urgent care clinics have become increasingly popular for both preventive and non-emergency care for this reason. However, an urgent care clinic can only offer these specialized services when they have the revenue to do so, and this revenue comes from patient billing. If you manage an urgent care center, learn about billing practices that can send revenue trends on a downward turn. 

Insufficient Front-Desk Staff

You should never be understaffed at your front desk. For a large or busy clinic, it might mean that you need at least two people working at the front desk. A common mistake clinics make is failing to verify insurance information after the patient has left. You should have someone at the desk whose main job is to verify insurance and collect co-payments before the patient walks out the door. 

Keeping Poor Records

It is essential that an urgent care clinic keep an accurate account of the services or treatments they provide patients. Inaccurate exam notes will lead to inaccurate billing. If the insurance company receives a payment request for a treatment that they did not authorize or that the patient refutes, the request will be denied until the information is corrected. Inaccurate records might even lead to overlooked charges, which will cost the clinic money. 

Ignoring Contract Reviews

When the contract between a clinic and an insurance payer expires, it is the responsibility of the clinic to renew the contract. Insurance companies will generally notify the practice of an upcoming expiration, but most of the groundwork rests on the shoulder of the clinic. If a contract is expired and payment requests are submitted, they will not be paid. As a result, all patients who utilize that particular insurance company will be required to self-pay. Telling a patient this news after the fact will always result in bad news for your practice. 

Billing Management

You have enough on your hands simply with managing the needs of the patients and the clinic's operation. Let a patient billing company manage all your billing needs for your clinic. From invoice pre-submission inspections to identify potential mistakes to patient follow-ups for self-pay invoices, a billing service can take over every aspect of your clinic's billing needs and work aggressively to ensure your clinic gets paid faster and, even more importantly, more accurately. 

Make sure you make the necessary changes in your clinic to avoid these and many other costly billing practices.

To learn more, contact a resource like Medical Financial Specialists.

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