Penny Reed
Mastering the art of dental billing requires your staff to have a comprehensive knowledge of each step in the process. From patient appointments to claim submissions, every piece of the puzzle works to help you get 100% of what you’re rightfully owed in reimbursement. Keeping your practice cash flow consistent requires a hands-on approach dedicated to dental billing. Let’s look at the top three most integral processes to master claim submission, as well as a solution for practices that may require an optimized boost.
Perhaps the single most obvious reason a claim is rejected is due to incorrect patient information. This can be something as simple as a misspelling of a name or a previous address, all the way up to the wrong insurance information. Your PMS should be updated with new patient information as you receive it, and it’s always a good idea to double-check before an appointment, as well as confirm with the patient when they arrive. If you’re unable to make a change at that moment, remind yourself with a note to change it as soon as possible.
CDT codes are changed annually, sometimes sooner. Without the correct resources, your staff may continue to use old or outdated codes, leading to denials. With Practice Booster’s updated coding books and narrative outlines, your practice can make sure that their codes are up to date and correct for each procedure. As well as this, Code Advisor offers a narrative tool for trickier clinical expectations that can be useful for outlining treatment reasoning.
Once you’ve made sure that your claim looks squeaky clean, it’s time to submit it for reimbursement. But what’s the best practice for sending a clean claim? You should aim to send within 24 hours (or one business day) of treatment. This allows the reimbursement timetable to start sooner rather than later, allowing you to bounce back quickly if any small inaccuracies cause a denial. If that happens, prioritize any corrections before submitting new claims.
If your practice is struggling to optimize cash flow and timely reimbursement, eAssist Dental Solutions offers a bespoke approach to claim submission. Our dedicated dental billers take the burden off your staff to submit claims. Your staff can instead focus on creating and maintaining relationships with your patients. EAssist also works with patient billing reimbursement, scheduling, and more. No matter what support your practice may need, eAssist has a solution to streamline cash flow and Increase treatment acceptance. Schedule a no-obligation consultation with us today, and see how easy it is to grant peace of mind to everyone in your practice.