There are many capable billing and collection companies available to O & P. I have been in the O & P business for many years, some with a large O & P provider, before starting my own O & P Billing and Collection service. Many billing company’s are familiar with HCPCS codes however, none should have the ability to code any service. All coding should be required by the practitioner not the billing service. If a billing service is not familiar with the DMERC DME O& P codes then they are not right for you.
I think there are many avenues that need to be considered prior to deciding to outsource your billing or keeping it in house. Obviously, amount of staff is the biggest. Because all O & P offices of all sizes have a lean work force, it is difficult for them to prioritize all duties. Patients are always a first priority in all offices. With that being said, most billing and especially collection efforts are last. It is very difficult for many employees to call patients regarding outstanding balances and then see them for their health issues. . Staff members who do complete insurance verification and maintains the office documentation procurement and operation flow is definitely a full time job. If choosing to do your billing in house I would suggest it be kept completely separate from your other staff.
Kathy Brown
>From: Jody Huwylermjcj Orthotist
>Reply-To: [email protected]
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: [OANDP-L] OANDP-L] O&P Billing service
>Date: Tue, 21 Jan 2003 14:14:17 EST
>
>As for my personal experience I prefer in-house billing. Currently the
>office I work for uses a billing service and I have been less than impressed.
> You on the other hand may have a better experience. I have found it more
>difficult to keep track of billing and collection activity without constant
>updates from the service, and makes it nearly impossible to answer questions
>from patients regarding their accounts on the spot. There are wonderful
>billing software options that co-exist with basic patient information and one
>touch billing/printing that anyone can operate with basic computer knowledge.
>
>The collections for the most part is done by the service…sometimes it is
>easier to collect on bad accounts with an outside source so you (whom has
>formed a personal bond with your patient) doesn’t have to be the bad guy when
>it comes to getting your money. Soft collections kind of get bounced back
>and forth between us and our service since all correspondence is directed to
>us then forwarded to the service. Not all services however will do hard
>collections. Just check!
>
>Nearly every office I have worked in does their own…but my boss is trying
>to lighten my work load which is appreciated, but frustrating at the same
>time. Research your prospective service carefully and find out how much
>experience they have with L coding and A coding. Most services deal mostly
>with physician services…and may not be properly educated in the ins and
>outs of O&P coding. Try to get references from similar types of providers
>and find out how their experiences have been. There are pro’s and con’s with
>everything. I hope this is some help to you.
>
>Jody Huwyler BOCO- Wichita, KS
>
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