Medical Service Spent reached a high on a scale of more than $4 trillion in 2020, equating to bills of more than $12K per individual. It takes time to keep track of everything from doctor services to prescriptions to home health care and more. So it’s not surprising that medical billing errors occur.
But that doesn’t imply we have to admit it. Even minor mistakes can cost you and your customers much money, erode trust, and cause problems that can last for months or even years. That is why it is critical to have competent billers and coders in-house or through a third-party vendor.
You can prevent medical coding errors from being passed on to the billing department by double-checking each code on an itemized bill. Although fewer errors won’t result in lower healthcare expenses, they will spare you and your patients a lot of hassle.
Errors in Medical Coding and eClinicalWorks Billing
Let’s look at some of the most common coding and medical billing errors, from the first patient visit to the final bill. Among the most common are:
- Billing for services that were not provided
- Not billing third-party payers
- Billing for the same service multiple times
- Incorrect patient billing
- Payment mishandling or misreporting
- Failure to follow up on billing disputes
- Incorrect service coding
- Failure to file medical claims on time
- Incorrect patient billing information recording billing for services not rendered
- Services that were not availed or were billed incorrectly are examples of this.
Not Billing Third-party Payers
Healthcare providers may occasionally need to remember to bill insurance companies or government programs for services rendered. This can result in revenue loss and impact the provider’s bottom line.
Billing for the Same Service Multiple Times
This frequently happens when a healthcare provider bills for the same service twice, either due to an error or because they could not collect payment from the patient the first time. Duplicate billing can result in overpayments and increased provider costs.
Incorrect Patient Billing
This can occur when a healthcare provider bills a patient for a service that was not provided or when a service is not covered by insurance. This can result in costly errors for the provider and confusion for the patient.
Payment Mishandling or Misreporting
When payments are paid to healthcare providers, it is critical that they are appropriately recorded and reported. Mishandled or misreported payments can result in lost revenue, inaccurate financial statements, and overcharges for the patient.
Failure To Follow Up on Billing Conflicts
Sometimes billing disputes arise between healthcare providers, patients, or insurance firms—incorrect service coding. Coding is one of the most critical aspects of medical billing, and all codes must be used and assigned correctly. Only appropriately assigned codes can result in lost revenue and incorrect patient information.
Failure To File Medical Claims on Time
When it comes to claims, insurance companies and even states have “timely filing” guidelines, with some as short as 30 days. They also limit the time allowed to correct any errors on a claim made by the payer or the medical office. This will result in late payments and may even result in a claim being denied.
Incorrectly Recording Patient Billing Information
Many mistakes occur at the beginning of a relationship because accurate patient information needs to be obtained. When submitting claims, anything from an incorrect b’day, postal address, insurance details, and more can cause issues. Take the time at the beginning of each visit to evaluate this information and make necessary changes.
Other Common Medical Coding and Billing Issues With eClinicalWorks Billing
While those mentioned above may be attributed to inexperience or sloppy work, there are times when incorrect billing or coding is fraudulent. Upcoding, under-coding, and unbundling are actions that send incorrect codes to payers on purpose. An incorrect code could be a mistake, but these are frequently intentional.
Reduce Medical Billing Mistakes
Medphine provides medical billing and coding services to hundreds of providers through consultation, training, or as a third-party partner. Every month, we handle millions of dollars in accounts receivable, and our track record is unrivaled.
We trust that you now thoroughly understand eClinicalWorks Medical Billing Services, eClinicalWorks Billing, and eClinicalWorks Payment Processing!
