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Medical Billing for Clinics/Doctors doing COVID-19 Testing / Rapid & PCR

Posted on February 16th, 2021 / Under Medical Billing / With No Comments

Covid-19 tests are some of the most important tests to be run in the last year. Testing processes have been implemented and improved upon as quickly as possible to help get control of this pervasive virus.

Covid-19 tests are divided into two categories: Diagnostic and antibody.

The diagnostic tests determine the presence of active coronavirus infections and the need for quarantine/isolation recommendations. The diagnostic tests are then divided into subtypes:
• Molecular – A test looking for genetic material from the virus
• Antigen – A test looking for specific proteins that are evident in the virus

Antibody tests are not meant to diagnose Covid-19, and the presence of antibodies has not been proven to provide immunity from COVID-19. Antibody tests only show if you have had the COVID-19 virus previously, although researchers are using the data collected from these tests to study the effect of COVID-19 antibodies and immunity rates.

The choice of test tends to depend on how quickly the results are needed. The results can take as long as a week or return as soon as 15 minutes.

The samples are also obtained differently depending on the required test. Some 15-minute tests can be run with a simple saliva sample but there are only a few of those. Most tests require a nasal or throat swab, but most require the nasopharyngeal swab, requiring the swab to be inserted into the nose and a sample taken in the throat behind the nose.

Antigen tests are diagnostic and require nasopharyngeal samples. Some of these give 15 to 30-minute results but are less accurate than the antibody tests.

Antibody tests to look for previous infections are blood tests and require a blood draw or finger stick. Results take one to three days, but some can return the same day.

Alternative methods of diagnostic testing have different benefits.
• The rapid point-of-care tests require a sample of mucus from the nose or throat but can be analyzed in the doctor’s office and can be available in minutes. The rapid tests are available in either antigen or molecular variations.
• Combination tests look for the coronavirus and the flu or other types of respiratory illnesses together.
• Saliva tests are available for better patient comfort. A cheek swab inside the mouth is much more comfortable than obtaining nasal or pharyngeal mucus. Some tests only require the patient to spit into a tube which can also be slightly safer for the healthcare professional gathering the sample by allowing them to maintain better distancing from a patient exhibiting Covid symptoms.

The availability of these tests is making it easier to test for and treat COVID-19 but is your office or clinic billing these tests correctly to receive maximal reimbursement? If not, your practice is losing the funds they are entitled to. Call One Source Medical Billing at 888-624-5563 and let us improve your bottom line.

Telehealth / Telemedicine

Posted on December 7th, 2020 / Under Medical Billing / With No Comments

COVID-19 has not only changed the manner in which patients receive medical care but has also caused an upheaval in billing procedures. Early in 2020, CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) moved quickly to implement coding changes for telemedicine care. With the wide variety of virtual services available for Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance patients, billing is now more complicated than ever.

Challenges in Adapting to Telehealth Regulations

Has your office kept up with the many pages of new virtual care regulations? Has your staff been downsized to the point that it is difficult for them to receive the training needed? Your office may not be realizing all the full compensation your services are entitled to receive.

Are you aware of the many different services available via telemedicine now? Virtual routine healthcare, such as wellness visits, is the biggest benefit in preventing the spread of the coronavirus, but nutrition and mental health counseling, skincare, and medication consultations are also encouraged.

Benefits of Telemedicine

If your office has not started using telehealth yet, it is something every doctor’s office needs to be taking advantage of. A virtual visit requires 2-way communication technology, which is readily available on many secure platforms. Video streaming is typically used, but some virtual visits can be done with voice communication alone. Although some services require in-person visits, telemedicine can generate up to $600 annually for patients needing chronic health management.

Simplify Telehealth Billing With Us

Our team of experts at One Source Medical Billing will take the confusion out of the medical billing process and increase your bottom line while freeing the rest of your staff to provide the best possible care for your patients. We are a full-service billing service, handling the initial claim, resubmissions, dispute billings, and payment posting, as well as balance billing to the patient.

Virtual healthcare does not have to be complicated. Let One Source Medical Billing make it easy for you while increasing billable revenues. Call us today for a consultation at 888-624-5563

One Source Medical Billing and Covid-19

Posted on July 8th, 2020 / Under Medical Billing / With No Comments

You can’t watch a single news broadcast that doesn’t talk about Covid-19, but as a medical provider, you don’t have to watch the news to be reminded of how Covid-19 is impacting your practice. You are dealing with Covid-19 on a daily basis, perhaps with a decreased patient schedule or possibly an increased patient schedule now that things are opening up again.

In-office visits take longer with social distancing requirements, checking temperatures, and extra sanitizing between patients. Unavoidable staff reductions have made this process more difficult.

Worse yet, maybe some of your staff has contracted Covid-19. No matter what the cause, if your staff decrease is in the billing department, your billing process has been disrupted. Billing disruption means a decline in your bottom line. One Source Medical Billing can help you get back on track.

Maybe you are conducting a lot of telemedicine visits. Telemedicine is being used to address most of the non-urgent health issues with three main telehealth options.

• Telehealth Visits: Phone or video conference via a telecommunication device.
• Virtual Check-Ins: Contact by phone (or another secure communication portal) to determine if an office visit or other intervention is needed.
• E-Visits: Patient and provider communication through a secure online portal.

The increase in telemedicine visits requires new filing procedures that your billing department has never encountered. The transition to telemedicine has been difficult for many healthcare practices due to the frequent changes in payment requirements and new codes being established for visits related to the coronavirus.

Is your current billing solution on top of timely billing and diligent follow-up on your claims?

One Source Medical Billing is offering a free comprehensive audit to determine the health of your current billing cycle and reimbursement percentages.

A One Source Medical Billing audit can show if you are receiving the maximum reimbursement due to your practice or where improvements can be made. Call us today at 888-624-5563

Why Your Practice Needs Our Free Third-Party Medical Billing Audit

Posted on January 26th, 2020 / Under Medical Billing / With No Comments

Are you getting optimal billing results in your practice? Are your claims getting a high number of denials? One Source Medical Billing (OSMB) offers auditing of your claims to find any issues you may be having, either on the front end or the back end of the claims process. By pinpointing specific issues, OSMB can improve claims management and boost reimbursements.

Diagnosing Denials With Our Claim Auditing Expertise

OSMB will review the full revenue cycle of your practice for the past year to locate the billing improvements needed to boost your overall payment success. These are a few examples that can delay clearing your insurance Accounts Receivable (A/R):

1. Denied claims with no follow-up: Some claims in the active A/R may have been denied, but the denial was never received or posted, and the cause of the denial was not resolved. Insurance companies can deny reconsideration if not resubmitted on time, which can result in lost revenue.
2. Incorrect Payment Posting: Erroneous payments and adjustments leave the A/R with false balances and can delay the collection of proper reimbursements from secondary insurance or private payments.
3. Delayed Payment Postings: Untimely insurance payment postings will provide false A/R turnaround values.
4. Missing Payments: Missing EFTs or payments mailed to the wrong address can be found with simple claim follow-ups.
5. No Active Insurance Coverage: Lack of proper insurance verification of all patients can lead to denials based on “no active participant found” or “no active coverage at the time of service.”
6. No Claims on File: A common delay in claims processing is simply that the insurance company did not receive the claim. Whether lost in transmission or stalled in a clearinghouse, these claims need to be resent promptly.

Enhancing Practice Revenue Cycle With Our Audit

The audit conducted by the experts of OSMB will break down all practice claims results into categories for a specific review of areas needing improvement in your revenue cycle, as well as show you where your billing cycle is working as it should. This audit report can help improve your bottom line and increase our revenue by showing if some minor adjustments are needed or additional training might be required. Can you afford NOT to have our free audit? Call us today at 888-624-5563.

Is Your Practice Making a Huge Mistake?

Posted on December 30th, 2019 / Under Medical Billing / With No Comments

The Costly Impact of Claim Denials on Medical Practices

One of the costliest issues for a medical practice is that of claim denials. They cost the practice revenue by delaying payments. They slow the work efficiency by forcing you and your staff to resubmit old claims in lieu of working on current claims. In general, they add frustration to the already hectic workday.

Even the most conscientious medical billing departments receive claim denials, but by avoiding the most common mistakes, your practice can reduce the denial rate significantly.

Common Errors Leading to Claim Denials

Here are some of the top medical billing errors that lead to claim denials:

1. Coding is not correct.
2. Coding is not specific enough.
3. Patient information is missing.
4. Patient information is incorrect.
5. Incorrect use of modifiers.
6. Claim information is missing.
7. Claim not filed in time.

How do you avoid these mistakes? One answer is this: You pour over claims with a fine-toothed comb prior to submission and become a coding expert in your spare time.

If that does not sound appealing to you, try using a medical billing company staffed by experts in the field to take the burden off of your staff and streamline the process for your practice. This is a proven method to reduce the number of submissions of incomplete and inaccurate claims that could result in denials, in turn increasing the number of payments you receive.

The Role of Medical Billing Experts in Reducing Claim Denials

Harnessing the experience of dedicated medical billing professionals will accelerate the speed with which your practice receives payments and decrease your rate of denials, improving your practice’s bottom line and saving your sanity along the way. Additionally, it will allow your practice to focus solely on what really matters: the patients.

One Source Medical Billing has the experience and expertise to reduce claim denials to reduce redundancy on the part of you and your staff. Learn more about how your practice will benefit by completing a FREE comprehensive audit with our experts.

5 Ways Outsourcing Your Practice’s Medical Billing Can Increase Profitability

Posted on June 11th, 2019 / Under Medical Billing / With No Comments

Updated 15/11/2023

Challenges in Modern Physician Practices

Physician practices nationwide feel the burden and frustration of increased regulation, mounting administrative duties, decreased reimbursements, rising costs, and changing payment models.

A survey conducted by the MGMA (Medical Group Management Association) in 2019 found that nearly nine in 10 medical practice leaders said that the overall regulatory burden had increased in the past year. Additionally, 76% of physician respondents feel these changes had not improved the quality of care for patients.

MGMA Annual Regulatory Burden Report 2023 shows that healthcare practices are still confronted with an overwhelming number of regulatory hurdles. According to this report, 89% of medical providers find Prior Authorization extremely burdensome because it delays patient care and increases providers’ cost and burden. Submitting documentation manually through fax or a health plan’s proprietary web portal is one of the significant challenges practices face with Prior Authorization.

Impact of Administrative Burdens on Physician Well-being

Many believe that these increased administrative burdens significantly contribute to the soaring rates of physician burnout. As physicians and healthcare leaders question the healthcare landscape’s direction, some practices seek new ways to reduce their administrative burdens and increase profitability.

Impact of Medical Billing Outsourcing on Patient-Centric Care

More and more practices are looking towards outsourcing their medical coding and medical billing as a way to help improve profitability, reduce administrative duties, increase reimbursements, and improve revenue cycle management.

There are a multitude of benefits that outsourcing can bring to a practice, including:

1) Allows for more time spent on patient care – Medical practices that outsource these services are able to spend more time focusing on providing excellent quality care to their patients.
2) Reduces administrative duties – Practices that outsource spend less time handling phone calls regarding claims, pre-authorizations, and communicating with insurance carriers and third-party payers. This time is better spent responding to patients and managing other day-to-day operations.
3) Reduces overhead costs – Practices that outsource their medical billing save on salaries, office supplies, office space, software, and computer equipment.
4) Increases profitability – Medical Practices that outsource revenue services experience a decrease in overhead costs, an increase in more timely submission of medical claims, reduced coding errors, reduced denials, and increased reimbursements.
5) Improves patient satisfaction – One of the most important benefits of outsourcing medical billing is spending more time with patients, which results in better quality care and higher patient satisfaction.

Partnering for Success

If your medical practice is looking for ways to reduce costs and decrease administrative burdens while improving profitability, please get in touch with the experts at One Source Medical Billing. Let our highly trained specialists work for you!

Contact us at 888-624-5563 or [email protected] for a free consultation.

Enough is Enough: It’s Time to Outsource Your Medical Billing

Posted on May 3rd, 2019 / Under Medical Billing / With No Comments

There is no debate about the value of medical billing services like One Source Medical Billing. However many practitioners either haven’t heard of this easy and obvious solution or haven’t bothered to learn anything about it. In these uncertain times, it’s important to be clued up on each and every resource that might increase your revenue and secure your business’s future. There are clear imperatives to outsourcing your medical billing, we’ve included 3 below.

Free Audits can find the holes in your revenue streams

Companies like One Source Medical Billing provide a free comprehensive Audit of your practice when you sign up. This will help identify what is past due and where your revenue streams are failing. This initial audit is key to producing a roadmap and strategy that to take the business forward.

Increase revenue

The audit will identify where you could be losing revenue, which allows us to lay the groundwork to increase your revenue streams. We do this by ensuring the correct billing codes are entered and overdue payments are followed up quickly. Our team of billing and coding experts knows how best to classify your work and is aggressive in their pursuit of your hard earned cash.

Weekly reports provide clear and concise updates

If you already outsource your billing solution but are not receiving weekly reports it might be time to find an alternative solution. Some billing firms, such as One Source Medical Billing, provide up front and reliable weekly status reports. We provide data driven insights to fine tune your revenue streams. This allows you to see exactly where your money is going and what they’ve done for you recently. Many other solutions take your money and fade off into the background without really showing you what they have done. You need a provider that is clear and communicative.

Can You Lose Your License Over Incorrect Medical Billing?

Posted on April 1st, 2019 / Under Medical Billing / With No Comments

If you read through your copies of First Aid for the USMLE, parceling through all the information you desperately crammed into your brain for the USMLE Step 1 and Step 2, you probably won’t find any information on medical billing. Correct coding or procedures and diagnoses is a large part of any good physician or surgeon’s day, yet represents 0% of the United States medical school curriculum. Whilst that’s not surprising (I mean, who needs to remember the 70,000 odd billing codes provided in the ICD-10), it does overlook how important the entire process is. In fact, in some cases, doing it incorrectly could land you in hot water.

The Crucial Role of Accurate Medical Billing

Medical billing services often tell you the positive changes they bring about in your business – e.g., the improvement in cash flow and a better, more reliable revenue stream that helps you focus on treating patients. After all, you trained as a doctor and not an accountant. However, these services often don’t tell you about another important service they can provide. The industry can provide excellent defense against fraud charges filed against the practice.

The Severity of Misrepresentation

How does this work? Having a poor understanding of how medical billing and coding works could leave you entering incorrect billing codes. This, down the line, may lead to lawsuits. The most recent example was a plastic surgeon in New York who found himself in hot water over incorrect billing. The Board for Professional Medical Conduct is set to hear the case and decide on the doctor’s medical licensing status. Misrepresenting your work — even in situations where this was not intentional, is deemed a severe grievance by the board and should be taken very seriously.

Prevention and Solution

Can you lose your license over medical billing? The answer, unfortunately, is yes. How can you prevent this? Get in touch with reliable medical billing service providers like One Source Medical Billing.

Are You Sure Your Current Billing Solution Is Maximizing Your Profit?

Posted on February 4th, 2019 / Under Medical Billing / With No Comments

If you’re a physician or a health provider who has worked so hard to attain a certain level in your career and you are still having serious issues with your Medical Billing Provider, then you must have skipped some of my blog posts. The joy of every physician is to enjoy every penny you’ve worked for but after you’ve carefully looked before you leaped into the wrong billing hands. Nobody is above mistakes, but a mistake can be corrected.

How will you know if you’re on the right track? How can you tell if your biller is actively working on your claims? It’s simple…
1. The billing method is fast-tracked from both ends. As silly as it may sound, but to be honest, sometimes, insurance companies and patients don’t always follow through on payments. This is where the medical biller comes in to ensure a smooth flow of claims charged to generate revenue to the physician in question.

2. The medical biller won’t just take up only the billing part, but also maximize profits for you.

3. The medical biller will do a comprehensive audit of your practice.

4. From the audit, the medical biller will develop a roadmap and strategy to work with you to help your practice.
It’s basically simple, challenging and daring to contact a reliable and dependable biller amidst many billers for your business. One Source Medical Billing is one of the most recognized Medical billing agencies with reliable, hardworking and skilled employees handling heavy-duty tasks for physicians across the states. Our mission is to expedite our clients’ reimbursement while delivering excellent service with great communication, so they can be free of financial worries and focus on serving their patients.

You could be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year if you entrust in the wrong biller. Let One Source Medical Billing help by doing a FREE comprehensive audit and show you the reality like in our ad.

Medical Billing Profitability in 2019

Posted on January 3rd, 2019 / Under Medical Billing / With No Comments

Medical billing is profitable when a Medical Practice uses the services of an experienced medical billing company, which has over-time continuously trained its people, to oversee the processes of submitting and following up on claims with health insurance companies.

There’s a high tendency that revenue being generated would never be as high as it would be, with in house billing. As a matter of fact, which is statistically proven, over 40% of a physician’s revenue ends up becoming lost due to loopholes and mistakes people make in the medical billing processes.

In times past, we’ve had complaints from various health providers and have come up with the best strategical ways of improving your medical billing profits in 2019. I’m going to be listing few of these tips below:

1. Coding and Billing:

Medical billing is not the same as Medical coding. They are two different things entirely, even though they work hand in hand towards achieving same goals. A medical coder reviews clinical statements and assigns codes while a medical biller processes and follow up on claims. If an office should make the mistake of employing an inexperienced coder or an amateur biller, such medical practice stands a very high risk of losing valuable profits.

2. Insurance Verification:

As simple as it may look, insurance verifications can be so confusing which is why is so paramount to acquire all the identifying information from the patients before a claim is initialized. Prior to this, the billing department will be able to bill the exact payer the first time, thereby preventing delays in compensation.

3. Rapid & Aggressive Follow Up:

Despite the daunting tasks the billing department faces on a daily basis, they still create time to follow up on all the enquiries they receive. Failure to do so might lead to a slight delay in the physician’s income.

4. Verify Real & Exact Payments:

It is important to always cross-check for payments that hasn’t been made yet in order to maintain a 100% efficiency ratio.

5. Dispute Denied Claims:

There’s a possibility that a claim can be voided or unattended to, however, to fast-track these payments, a medical billing department has to follow up on all denials.

You could be losing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year if you entrust in the wrong biller.
Let One Source Medical Billing help by doing a FREE comprehensive audit and show you the reality.