Integrated billing and accounts receivable management system needed to maximize payments and cope with managed care.
The billing and accounts receivable management process in medical practices today has evolved into a multidisciplinary function. This function requires efficient, coordinated performance by physicians and all staff members, from the point of initial patient contact through aggressive follow-up on delinquent payments for services rendered. Offices with deficient or nonexistent billing and accounts receivable management systems typically experience collection ratios that are less than industry norms. They also experience poor cash flow and unnecessary overhead costs. To avoid costly inefficiencies and ensure that it maximizes payments from third-party payors and patients, a medical practice must have an integrated billing and accounts receivable management system that includes components outlined in this article.
Sanders
J
J
Principals Professional Business Consultants, Inc., 1211 West 22nd St., Suite 500, Oak Brook, IL 60523, USA. meditcommunications@ameritech.net
Wold
D
D
Sullivan
T
T
D000067:Accounts Payable and Receivable; D000555:Ambulatory Care Information Systems; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D001330:Electronic Data Processing; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000191:economics*; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D010350:Patient Credit and Collection / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011216:Practice Management, Medical / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States