Errors and inaccuracy take a toll in any business. With regard to the healthcare service industry, a simple slip-up can severely impact your business and hurt your bottom line. Naturally, the U.S. healthcare industry – a trillion-dollar business – has no room for errors in its billing and coding department.

When there are claims to be made and services to be compensated, one just cannot afford to take medical billing lightly. So if your medical practice has recently bought things like this N95 Mask, then you need to make sure that you have the correct medical bill for this. It holds the key to making a healthcare business sustainable and profitable. Whether it’s a multi-specialty hospital or a small physician’s office, creating an error-free invoice is crucial for getting paid. Even the smallest mistake or the slightest departure from the procedure can lead to a claim getting denied, or even rejected.

It’s no wonder that specialist third-party billing services are in such demand nowadays. After all, unless you are 100% confident and have all the necessary expertise to do it right, it makes little sense to take chances with medical billing and inadvertently impede the cash-flow in your business.

While you are still thinking about whether to outsource or not, here are 3 common mistakes that you can correct now to get more bang out of your medical billing.

1. Entering the correct patient demographics & other details: You may raise your brow while reading this. But believe me when I say that patient demographics and insurance entry need meticulous attention. It has often been observed that these components, when overlooked, can lead to mayhem. So every bit of extra effort that you put in to check their accuracy is worth its weight in gold.

2. Eligibility verification and authorization requirement inquiry : In claims billing, insurance coverage may sometimes be subject to a copay or coinsurance, and authorization is required for various services or medical equipment. Such requirements also vary from payer to payer. Special attention must be given in this area so that there are no nasty surprises in the path to getting your claims fulfilled.

3. Denial management and A/R follow-up: This goes a little beyond the actual process of billing, but is extremely important in getting the cash find its way to your door. Let’s face it, denials are common in spite of your best efforts. But don’t give up if your claim fails to make it to the finishing line the first time. A proactive and aggressive accounts receivable follow-up program can really work wonders and no medical billing process should be complete without it.