Round Up: Billing Quality, Integrity, and Best Practices

Here are four HealthLeaders articles that emphasize the importance of efficient, and compliant, billing practices.

As the healthcare sector becomes more consumer focused, providers must make sure their billing practices are up to standard and patient friendly. Patients are responsible for paying more of their healthcare costs, there’s also the need to adopt different methods of payment to ensure cash flow.

How Would You Rate Your Organization’s Billing Quality

Simon C. Mathews, MD and Martin A. Makary, MD, both professors at Johns Hopkins University, proposed five metrics providers can use to measure billing quality. These metrics include whether or not the provider offers itemized bills, provides pricing information to patients when asked, or if patients are able to speak with billing representatives about their bill.

“In the same way medical complication rates are collected for improvement purposes, and some are available to the public,” an article on the professors stated, “Metrics of billing quality could be used to create public accountability for US hospitals.”

Best Practices to Avoid Improper Billing

There’s very little room for error when it comes to billing, and providers must be meticulous to ensure patients and insurers aren’t over or under paying for the care they receive. This article offers insights from HealthLeaders’ 2023 RevTech Exchange, one revenue cycle executive who suggests forming a team to oversee price transparency efforts, and how patient portal utilization can help with collections.

Predatory Billing Practices Aren’t Widespread, But Remain a Concern

A study from the University of Southern California eased some concerns from federal agencies about predatory billing practices. Of a random sample of hospitals, one in 10 hospitals were found to employ predatory billing practices like interest-bearing payment plans.

Of all the providers surveyed, 87% offered interest-free payment plans.

How One Alabama Clinic Revamped Their Billing Process

In 2022, UAB Selma Family Medicine Center decided to adopt a new practice management system to improve billing inefficiencies. The center was struggling financially and administrative director Jeff Denney, saw the potential to for technology to help stabilize things.

With the implementation of the new practice management system, Selma Family Medicine saw a reduction in overall denials and days in accounts receivable, and an increase in their gross collection rate.