How to Increase Profits for Your Optometry Center?

Optometry centers cater to basic eye care with optometrists who can check, diagnose, and medically treat such eye conditions. The basics include providing vision tests, prescribing, and fitting corrective lenses, or diagnosing eye conditions. Though one of the most common and required fields, it can be quite a task to maintain the profits of an optometry center.

Here are some tips to work on that

Know the Optical Needs

It’s important to understand the needs of your patient base. In the case of an optometry center, you need to ensure the optical care needed for the type of patients you have. Have a conversation with patients to understand their preferences and make sure that they are available at the center. You may also give your customers the option to try out different procedures, etc. Remember to consider the costs involved in the treatment offered.

Invest in Limited Vendors

When you order more in one lot, you can easily negotiate for better discounts. Higher sales at selected frame vendors also make you stand out and create a good impression about your business. Selecting in bulk will take quite some time hence take an appointment earlier. Buying high-quality and fashionable frames in bulk will save you money, resulting in a better profit margin.

Improve Marketing

It’s simple – If you don’t tell, you won’t sell! Take additional efforts to market your center with traditional ways and new ways like digital marketing. Stand out in front of your target audience by being the most relatable and reliable. Take time out to answer your customer queries, reviews, etc. online. It is a part of customer service and helps build customer loyalty.

Last but not the least, you can try increasing medical eye care. It also brings in medical billing and its several rules and regulations with it. Let us check how to increase profits with medical billing in an optometry center.

One of the fastest ways to increase profits is to develop a process with an upfront collection. Check if the patient’s insurance plan includes deductible, co-pay, or coinsurance. It’s always better to check and collect in front of the patient rather than send invoices later. That can later result in late payments, Accounts Receivable (AR) delays, and fewer chances of you getting paid on time. 

More Tips for Better collection in Optometry Practice

Credentialing 

The first step in optometric medical billing is getting the provider credentialed by the insurance payer. You need to submit and track credentialing applications as per the requirements of the insurance plan. Follow up with the insurance payers to make sure that the provides are enrolled in-network while the enrollment is open.

Appropriate Codes

Using appropriate CPT codes is of utmost importance. Certain services are not to be billed together, e.g. OCT/GDX and fundus photography. If this is done, Medicare might reject both codes or may only allow payment of the code with the lowest reimbursement. Similarly, codes 92133/92134 and 92250 are considered to be exclusive and both tests can’t be paid in the case of glaucoma.

Use appropriate code combinations, considering the local policies too. (National Council on Compensation Insurance) NCCI edits allow the use of modifiers for both fund photography and OCT/GDX but it needs to be used appropriately. If 2 tests are medically necessary for two separate health conditions, you might be able to link the diagnosis code to each CPT and add the modifier 59 for the other procedure.

Verify Benefits Earlier

Several people have both medical and vision insurance plans. The plan based on the patient’s primary complaint and medical diagnosis is generally the one to be billed. It may get complicated than that at times. It can be easier if you verify both the medical plans of the patient before he/she visits the hospital. Hence, you can collect the fees upfront.

Make Use of Advance Beneficiary Notice

With expertise and knowledge, a person can suspect that the service or procedure a patient avails of will or will not be covered by Original Medicare or non-Medicare plans. If it is not covered, that patient will be responsible to pay out of his pockets. In such situations, it is better to get a Form CMS-R-131 signed by the patient. It is an Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN) which should be obtained by the patient before the service or procedure is availed.

Pay Attention to Rejected Claims

Most of the claim denials can be due to administrative errors or billing errors. Hence, procedure codes need to be paid attention to and the denied claims can be re-submitted. It is also important to understand the reason behind the rejection of the claim and to regularly follow up on that.

Medical billing can be an exhaustive task hence you may choose to outsource it. 24/7 Medical Billing Services has a team of optometry billing services experts well-versed with the new system of ICD-10 to take care of all your billing and coding needs. Get in touch to know more about our end-to-end medical billing services or simply visit https://www.247medicalbillingservices.com/

Read more : 5 Billing Issues That Affect Revenue For Your Optometry