You may be just starting out at a new medical laboratory and have been tasked to find a laboratory billing system for your team. Or, perhaps you have been working at the same lab for some time now, and you and your fellow stakeholders have realized that you need to do something now to start collecting more money.

Changes in the United States healthcare system are leading to new challenges that patients and healthcare providers alike must address. For example, patients facing financial issues (with limited savings for emergencies) will take longer to pay their medical bills or wind up defaulting on these bills during tough economic times.

You may not have gone into medicine primarily for the money, but that doesn’t mean that you have to ignore economic realities, especially when it comes to getting paid in a more timely manner.

Delivering healthcare services in the United States requires providers to obtain compensation for the work they do in evaluating, diagnosing, treating, and following up with patients.

You may have many years of experience in the healthcare industry already, but lately you have come to realize that despite what you know about the medical field, you would like to become more familiar with the healthcare revenue cycle. That’s a good idea, because successful revenue cycle management (RCM) is the key to any successful medical practice’s growth and development.

When it comes to ensuring the ongoing success of your medical organization, taking pains to hire only the best and brightest people is just the beginning. Each member of your staff should focus on customer service and cultivating a good bedside manner, to be sure. And the high standards you set should also apply to how you process your billable claims. In fact, the success or failure of your medical practice will naturally depend to some extent on how well you are managing the flow of revenue.

While implementing an electronic health record (EHR) can dramatically streamline internal workflow and facilitate more effective communication with peers and patients, adding the technology alone won't necessarily make your organization as lean as possible. Healthcare in a digital environment is complex, especially with so many regulations that seem to constantly be rolling out another layer. While some studies show that a large percentage of physicians (91%) polled preferred the least expensive outsourcing option, there are some potential challenges associated with moving toward outsourcing medical billing with that approach.

It almost goes without saying that the needs of pain management practices are quite different from those of other specialties. Addressing the needs of patients coping with acutely painful situations and managing patients’ chronic pain properly while meeting law enforcement requirements can spell the difference between a relatively speedy recovery or prolonged care that may include complications.

Have you considered hiring a medical billing company, but aren't sure that is the right step for your practice? Maybe your organization is having trouble reworking denials or you have a higher than expected percentage of claims sent back due to incorrect coding or patient data. Every practice has different pain points, but almost every medical enterprise could use some help improving their reimbursement rates and lowering the charge off ratio. Hiring a medical billing company can help you achieve those goals.

When considering the impact of medical billing mistakes in your organization, let’s begin by recognizing that to err is human and to forgive is divine. Discovering there are problems doesn’t need to devolve into a wave of finger pointing and blame. But recognizing that you are making mistakes with your medical billing can be positive because now you can make an effort to correct them. When you take care of the mistakes, the results should be less stress on your already busy staff, improved revenue flow and the confidence that comes with knowing you have set your system right. Are you and your team making these three medical billing mistakes?