It’s estimated that up to 80% of medical bills have errors, according to a 2016 report. Even small medical coding and billing mistakes can cause lost revenue, lagging reimbursements, and frustrated patients.
The medical billing profession is complex and dynamic. To start, there are more than 100,000 different ICD-10 and CPT codes which are reviewed and updated annually.
Beyond common data entry errors, there are also more nuanced coding mistakes that can be expensive and damaging to medical practices. Unbundling codes, misusing procedural modifiers, and upcoding can all lead to a practice billing more than they’re allowed to. While these mistakes may seem minor, they can add up to major cash flow and revenue problems. Practices that misrepresent bills or incorrectly code procedures may be charged thousands of dollars in fines, and could even lose their eligibility to collect government payments through Medicaid and Medicare.
Investing in the right medical collections software is key to improving healthcare revenue cycle management. Your practice can minimize coding errors, maximize reimbursements, and improve overall revenue cycle management.
In this article, we’ll review some of the key technical features you should look for in medical collections software.