In today’s complex world and the struggling economy, business issues in the healthcare industry can take precedence in determining the sustainability of medical practice. One of the biggest challenges facing physicians today is not solely concerned with patient care; instead, many of today’s care providers are concerned with the business side of health care, especially concerning medical billing and coding.
As many as 100 new urgent care clinics open their doors annually, according to the American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine. And with each new clinic comes coding and billing challenges related to high-deductible health plans. Medical billing for walk-in clinics and urgent care centers can be more challenging than for other primary care due to the fact that urgent care procedures tend to be more intricate and complex.
Payer reimbursement policies and coding changes have made it more challenging for walk-in clinics and urgent care practices to increase revenue. However, once you understand some of the challenges facing your practice, there are strategies your practice can implement to begin improving revenue despite these challenges.
Just a few of the challenges that walk-in clinics and urgent care practices are now facing include:
Challenge #1: Prior Authorization – An urgent care clinic does not always have the time to call insurance companies to obtain pre-authorization for services.
Challenge #2: Patient Access – While the urgent care industry has matured significantly since its inception, questions and challenges about patient access remain.
Challenge #3: Denials – One revenue cycle area that is a cause of concern for all walk-in clinics and urgent care is claims denial. Denied claims not only add days to the revenue cycle & therefore disrupt cash-flow but can also rob you of potential revenue, if not resolved timely.
Complexities around urgent care coding, billing, payer contracts, and compliance often prevent clinics from getting the reimbursement they deserve. It shouldn’t be so hard to get paid.
What leads to complexities?
- Billing errors
- Failure to stay up-to-date on medical billing rules and regulations
- Eligibility issues
- Missteps in urgent care coding and billing
Running an urgent care center is a lot of work. Be proactive and look out for these common missteps in billing and coding to help your clinic receive the reimbursements you’ve earned.
If you’re concerned that your urgent care center won’t be properly reimbursed, then this iPatientCare webinar is for you. It’s the time to make billing easier and optimize your revenues!
After attending the webinar, you will be able to:
- Minimize room for mistakes
- Feel confident
- Enhance upfront collections
- Make your Walk-in clinic medical billing procedures function better than ever
- Stay up-to-date on the latest changes in urgent care codes and payer requirements
- Maximize on-time reimbursements for your practice
- Achieve transparency throughout the revenue cycle
- Determine how much you get paid for urgent care services
As the gap between the primary care provider and emergency room, walk-in clinics like urgent care, FQHC, RHC plays a vital role in our healthcare system. That’s probably the reason for its increasing popularity and are expected to be worth $26 billion by 2023. To command your fair share of the market, you have to understand the basics and identify the billing complexities to optimize your workflows for maximum returns.
Contact iPatientCare medical billing expert to find out how we can help you with all of your medical billing needs including claims and denial management.
