Staff Training and Education Considerations

In-Office Payment Policy

The payment policy for your medical office should explicitly state that payments are due at the time of service. It should be posted in the office, listed on all billing forms and communicated to patients before their appointment. But having a payment policy is only the first step. Enforcing the policy is what is most important. It can be difficult because you don't want to be in the situation of refusing care for someone who needs it. Many patients will have insurance, but some procedures might not be completely covered by the insurance provider. Train your front office staff on the payment policy and how to communicate this policy to patients in a respectful and assertive manner.

Timeliness

It is your goal to collect all money due from patients at the time the service is due. But sometimes you don't know how much is due until after an insurance claim is processed. The key to collecting residual patient payments is communicating with patients as soon as possible about the balance on their account. This can be increasingly important if a patient has an upcoming appointment because you will need to collect the balance prior to additional charges being accumulated. In addition, if there is an error in processing from the insurance company and an appeal needs to be filed, the patient must act quickly to respond within the required time. Assisting them in that process starts with your timely communication.

Finding Solutions

Billers & Coders are faced with constant changes like federal regulations and insurance requirements. With all of these issues, plus the ever-changing healthcare industry, keeping current on everything can be challenging.

When your staff is properly trained in their area of focus, your practice will enjoy benefits like increased cash flow, shorter time-to-payment and improved efficiencies within the business office. MedCycle Solutions can help your staff with their continuing education or if they’re starting from scratch on their billing or coding career.

MedCycle Solutions offers on-site and virtual training and education for your staff. When your staff is confident in their knowledge, they’re likely to make less mistakes and be more efficient, helping your bottom line.

We also offer customized training solutions based on your staff’s needs.

To determine your training and education needs, we first do an audit of your current coding processes and staff’s knowledge level. After that, we develop our recommendations for training to ensure your staff is getting the exact education they need to contribute more to your practice.