Optimize your Clinic’s Processes with Medical Billing and Coding Software

There are a lot of ways to optimize medical services and make them more efficient and customer-centric. Creating medical billing and coding software or using existing software for medical management is one of the ways. In this article, we’re going to explain the efficiency of medical billing applications and tell you how to choose the right one for your hospital or clinic.

What is Medical Billing Software?

Medical billing software is a healthcare application that allows doctors and healthcare administrators to streamline financial operations by providing automated billing and improving the quality of their medical data with the help of competent coding.

What software is used for medical billing and coding? The most widely used medical apps of this type are Lytec, Medisoft, and Ingenix. All of them are aimed at automating financial transactions and cutting costs.

What are the Three Different Types of Medical Billing Systems in Healthcare?

• Closed. Closed medical billing and coding software are systems that don’t allow data transfer or collaboration with other doctors and institutions. For example, electronic medical record (EMR) software is a closed type.
• Open. Electronic health record (EHR) software is an example of an open type of software. In this case, collaboration with other facilities and data transfer between systems is possible.
• Isolated. An isolated system is completely private and it isn’t widely used by modern medicine.

Medical Billing Software Programs Benefits

What are the advantages of invoicing software for your clinic? Here are the main benefits.

• Get rid of paperwork and human error. Previously, billing and invoicing took a lot of time, effort, and paper. Plus, there was a risk of overbilling or the reverse situation where the hospital provided services for free because of the staff’s mistake in billing. With medical billing and coding online application, invoices are generated automatically for the services the patient received.
• Automate billing and insurance claims processing. In addition to automated billing. modern systems are able to get in touch with insurance companies and generate a request to make a payment if the patient was served and is covered. What’s more, there are features for tracking the status of claims, resubmitting claims, and other functions that help hospitals get paid on time.
• Manage patients and financial data from one place. Medical billing and coding software allows for the storing of all the information in one place, and encryption technologies allow one to set access of certain user groups to particular data.
• Improve patient care. Medical coding software often comes with built-in payment features that allow instant payments with credit or debit cards thereby improving customer service.
• Facilitate coding. Doctors worldwide use the ICD-10 uniform coding system to classify medical information and generate medical data of the highest quality, logic, and structure. Medical billing and coding software can automate this task, especially if the system is powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Top Medical Billing Software Features

Below are the essential functions of medical billing and coding software.

• Appointment scheduling. With this feature, a doctor can schedule an appointment for patients who need regular consultations and exams.
• Patient pre-registration. Using a unified medical platform, a patient can register for a doctor’s appointment. This feature will help to optimize the doctor’s schedule, and the patient will be billed automatically at the end of the consultation.
• Insurance claim management. Medical billing software of an open type can be used for collaborating with insurance companies and requesting them to make a payment according to their contract with the patient.
• Patient information. Medical billing software may also be used to store a patient’s basic information including their cell phone number which can be used to send notifications and reminders.
• Billing features. This is the core of medical billing software. There should be features for automatic bill generation, recording, payment history, and payment reminders.
• Accounting and financial management. With features like payroll, credit card processing, and revenue cycle automation you can optimize the work of your accounting department.
• Reporting. With the help of reporting features, you can get more insights about your medical operations using custom reporting, doctor dashboards, and financial performance reports.

The Main Things to Consider When Choosing Medical Billing Software

How do you make the right choice between medical billing software companies and find one that will be able to provide you with the functionality your hospital or clinic needs? The only way is to carefully research them taking into account the following:

• Set of functions. The set of functions your medical software provider offers should meet the needs of your hospital.
• Ease of use. Medical software for billing and coding should be easy to use. Your staff should be able to start working with it immediately after the system is set up.
• Consider the cost of medical billing software. The price for using developed solutions differs greatly depending on the functionality you use and whether there is an on-site server. The price starts at around $32 and may reach $8,000 per month. Also, there can be set up and maintenance costs.
• Experts also recommend paying attention to the rating of the solution according to its online reviews and take company staffing into account. Ideally, there should be a lot of competent and responsive professionals ready to help you with any issues regarding your medical billing and coding software.

Conclusion

There are a lot of high-end medical billing solutions in the market to choose from, however, in some cases, their pre-developed functionality may not meet your hospital’s business needs and goals. If you feel that the existing solutions are not effective for your clinic, consider creating a custom billing and coding software. Doing it this way, you will be able to come up with the functionality you really need for your business process optimization.