A well-structured optometry billing charge entry process is something every provider aims to achieve. It is an indispensable component for providers that wish to reduce claim denials and generate maximum revenue for their optometry practice. But the billing staff needs to be extremely cautious while entering the patient information as well as while assigning codes and modifiers. Even a single error can lead to huge monetary losses for the optometry provider.
Here are 5 simple yet significant steps that can help you streamline your optometry billing charge entry process. Follow these procedures to improve billing productivity and boost your practice’s profitability successfully.
1. Error-free Patient Demographics Entry
The reason behind a large number of claim denials is data entry or administrative errors. This includes mistakes while entering patient details, date of service, diagnosis and procedure codes, modifiers, etc. Having a team of domain experts can be quite beneficial in validating the accuracy of patient information and other data. Hence, optometry billing staff always needs to be on their toes and make special efforts to ensure that the information they are entering is correct.
2. Patient Eligibility and Benefits Verification
Patient eligibility verification enables practices to provide patients with all the necessary details pertaining to deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance, etc. Verifying insurance coverage helps practices to determine total patient responsibility with respect to the payments. Informing your patients about the estimated payment amount prior to the appointment can also boost patient satisfaction and protect you from claim denial incidents.
3. Authorization Prior to Providing Services
Pre-authorization or prior authorization is the process of getting approval from the insurance company before offering medical services to a patient. This procedure is a confirmation by your insurance network that a particular service, treatment, drug, or medical equipment is medically necessary. When an insurance payer authorizes a service prior to the treatment, you are provided with an authorization number. This number needs to be included in the claims when you submit it for reimbursements.
4. Daily Charge Entries and Claims Submissions
Once you have offered a service to a patient, don’t take too much time to post charges. The longer you wait to enter charges, the longer it takes to bill the patient. Hence, it is recommended to always post charges on the same day you offer services to a patient. Submitting claims on a daily basis can also help you reduce outstanding accounts receivables and thus, maintain a constant flow of revenue into your practice.
5. Accurate Billing Codes and Modifiers
One of the most important aspects of the charge entry process is assessing claims and ensuring they are in line with the optometry billing and coding guidelines. The misuse of billing modifiers is a very common scenario that often leads to audits and ends up being a costly mistake for the practice. Optometry providers thus need to always make apt and accurate use of diagnosis and procedure codes. Similarly, practices also need to make sure that there are no errors with respect to the patient or provider identifier.
Looking for solutions to enhance your optometry billing charge entry process? CS Eye consists of seasoned billing and coding experts that can take care of each and every aspect of your optometry billing. This way, you can dedicate all your attention to providing excellent patient care while we generate substantial returns for your practice. Contact us to know more about our service offerings.
