How Billing Companies Transform Billing for Treatment Centers

The landscape of mental and behavioral health is rapidly changing. In addition to the time-consuming effort of billing and coding, you must deal with constantly changing legislation, payment structures, and substance addiction billing software, as well as the issues of out-of-network billing.

Billing concerns plague many drug and alcohol addiction treatment facilities, resulting in late payments and revenue loss. This is where the need for outsourcing substance use disorder billing comes in. Outsourcing medical billing and coding provides you with a team of skilled billers and coders who will tackle these problems on your behalf. A  substance addiction billing company will also keep track of receivables, promote best practices, and boost reimbursements. Let’s see how billing companies transform billing for treatment centers:

• Increased Focus on ICD-11

According to the research, the most prevalent classification system, ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision), will be replaced by ICD-11. That implies that ICD-11 will become the accepted international standard for disease classification in 2023.

Healthcare providers will eventually transition to ICD-11, which is more extensive than ICD-10. Furthermore, healthcare practitioners will need to be aware of these new codes as it includes many new areas, such as lifestyle choices, drug overdoses, and many more. Instead of making all these efforts, healthcare practitioners can also rely on billing companies who are already amidst the journey.

• Introduction of Blockchain

SUD billers and coders will not only see an increase in advanced billing software, but blockchain technology may also be on the horizon. Although it is commonly used to manage cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins, it is currently utilized for purposes other than cryptocurrency. As per the research, developers tried using it in medical coding and billing, which worked well.

Blockchain, which is slightly more capable than a decentralized ledger, records all forms of transactions. Since there isn't much distinction between a sequence of EHRs and a financial ledger, a blockchain ledger can be easily incorporated into an EHR. As blockchain records are immutable, including blockchain technology makes the rehab billing services system more safe and accurate.

• Other Services

There are a few critical trends that stand out when one looks at high-growth medical billing companies, defined as organizations with two years of year-on-year revenue growth of 11% or more.

Offering more substance use disorder billing and coding services could be a way to grow. According to a survey, 91% of these companies provide appeals services, while 84% give patient support. Other services to consider include:

• Credentialing
• Practice technology consulting and support
• Compliance consulting

These services go beyond billing, helping treatment centers to diversify, retain, and attract new patients. Juggling various service providers and operating systems exhausts many practice and medical providers. Giving them a "one-stop shop" or offering extra services can also help to strengthen the client relationship while earning cash.

Another significant finding is that 52% of high-growth substance use disorder billing and coding companies use Robotic Process Automation (RPA), while 29% use Patient Collections Automation. In other words, utilizing technological solutions such as RPA, e-billing, and e-payments may enable medium-sized and smaller substance use disorder billing and coding companies to develop - ultimately leading to the growth of healthcare providers.

Why is it Important to Keep Up with the Changes?

As medical technology rapidly advances, keeping up with the latest developments is critical to ensuring patients receive quality care. That being stated, here are two eye-opening figures that will help you realize why keeping up with changing trends in substance use disorder billing and coding is equally essential:

• According to InstaMed's Trends in Healthcare Payments Twelfth Annual Report, approximately 87% of patients are interested in making payments online.
• The medical billing sector is expected to grow 9.25% to USD eight billion by 2026.

Contact 24/7 Medical Billing Services- Transform Billing for Treatment Centers!

One of the most essential practice management decisions your facility will ever make is outsourcing substance use disorder billing and coding. In reality, outsourcing your medical billing and coding allows you to focus on treatment rather than back-office activities. However, working with the wrong medical billing and coding company may cause you much more trouble than you already have.

See also : Amplifying Revenue With Clinical Documentation Improvement Strategies