3 Easy Tips To Improve Revenue For Chiropractic Billing Services

Given the current hectic lifestyle that most individuals lead with little physical activity, Chiropractic centres are receiving a lot of patients each day. As a result, staff and practitioners are overworked, and when they have to take care of the billing process with that workload, it can be a step toward revenue loss. However, that should not be the case. Instead, chiropractic facilities, with an increase in patient numbers, must be making money. But the reality in most practices is different. Because of the ever-changing government rules and health insurance policy updates, staying on top of the changes can be pretty problematic. As per the latest rules, incorrect coding and billing results in revenue loss in chiropractic services and, at times, draws attention from the authorities for overbilling, which can be termed abuse or fraud.

In all aspects, you want to stay away from such an allegation. But, at the same time, ensure you are getting paid for the services offered to the patients. There are three easy tips that any chiropractic facility can follow in such a scenario to improve its revenue for chiropractic billing services.

1.  Documentation & Insurance Contracts

90 percent of services provided by chiropractic services, lab tests, and imaging get their claims rejected or denied due to insufficient documentation. At times, the lack of documentation has also been a reason for the practice not getting paid for the services. Hence, every patient’s documentation must be done correctly to ensure no revenue loss.

In most cases, the major flaws in the documentation reported are coding errors, stating the lack of medical necessity and failure to take into account the changes in insurance contracts. Therefore, the practice must notify the changes of the insurance contracts and do a thorough review of the contracts with the payer before the procedure as part of the process to get the reimbursement.

The process also helps the chiropractic practice build an actionable plan for changes in workflow and increase staff retention and processing. Being mindful of the deadlines also helps in timely claim submission.

2.  Optimize and Examine A/R (Account Receivables)

Account Receivables or A/R is one of the key elements for reimbursement for physicians. Typically, the advice is to keep the A/R between 0 to 21 days. It means the average time taken to collect the payment from the practice is between these days. Since, in most cases, days and payments are directly proportional to each other, the delays done in A/R mean delays in getting the payment.

Hence, every chiropractic practice needs to calculate its A/R to ensure that its revenue cycle management is efficient. The process of optimization and examining the A/R also helps identify any issues that might have occurred or occurred in the time-to-time payments.

Some of the methods that can be used in optimizing and examining the A/R that can improve the revenue cycle management are:

• Find the difference between the insurance and the patient accounts receivables
• Establish a relationship with all the payers
• Define, prioritize and determine all the risks by evaluating and understanding the payer-refund patterns
• Examine the guideline of the payers to understand the ways your A/R can get affected
• For all patient accounts, implement strict collection policies 

3.  Training your patients and staff

Due to the lack of knowledge about insurance terminologies, patients are experiencing more deductibles and co-pays than ever before in chiropractic medical billing. With more awareness among the patients regarding healthcare, they are getting sensitive about the expenditure. Therefore, every chiropractic practice must ensure that they get the payment without burdening the patients. The best way to do that is by educating and communicating with the patients about the cash they have to pay for the treatment.

Hence, it is essential that patients know the cost of chiropractic service, what their insurance covers, and other financial responsibilities when seeking treatment. Part of the process can include handing out a booklet or catalogue that contains the details and clear information about the billing. Also, the practice needs to train its staff in dealing with patients regarding payment and billing. Therefore, the chiropractic staff must be aware of all the latest changes in Medicare, Medicaid, and other private insurers and their policies.

How To Ensure These Tips Are Followed?

Apart from using all the available resources like the latest medical software and RCM software, a chiropractic practice can take the help of an outsourced chiropractic billing company like 24/7 Medical Billing Services.

A team of experienced medical billing and coding experts  in chiropractic practice can ensure all these steps are followed while helping you streamline the financial process, increase the monthly revenue for chiropractic billing services, and reduce any claim rejection and denial. In addition, an outsourced medical billing company such as 24/7 Medical Billing Services will ensure you have an improved ROI with a scalable future.

Read more: How Can Outsourcing Chiropractic Billing Improve Your Revenue?