Behavioral health billing starts with intake and admissions. When patients walk through the doors to a facility, their experience begins. The first impression they have of an organization will stay with them until their care is complete. For this reason, providers must pay close attention to their intake and admissions process. You might ask yourself: “What does this have to do with billing?” Well, this article’s goal is to answer that question fully.
Intake and admissions are related to billing more than most providers realize. From the patient experience to the collection of patient data, each step of this process is intertwined with payments and reimbursements.
The Importance of Making Sure Billing is Set-Up Correctly From the Beginning
What does it mean to have billing set up from the beginning? This means that from the point of the first contact, your billing process is in action. The revenue cycle occurs from the intake process until the patient’s balance is paid in full and needs to be addressed each step of the way.
During the intake process, integrated billing solutions can ensure providers have all of the relevant details prepared and help them offer the best experience to patients and line them up for success down the line. Failure to do this can cause a host of issues later on.
1. Claim Process
When a provider files a claim, every detail on the claim must be correct to receive reimbursement. Claims include patient information like their name and date of birth; both recorded during the intake process. If any patient information is incorrect on the claim, it will be denied, and reimbursement will be delayed.
2. Coverage
Insurance information must be entered accurately, and coverage must be verified before services are ever rendered. If a patient receives services without coverage, then the entire bill becomes that individual’s responsibility. Providers are much less likely to receive a patient payment, making that revenue less reliable than an insurance reimbursement.
3. Payment Policies
Providers should utilize the intake process to then explain to patients what their responsibility toward their outstanding balance will be. Policies need to be communicated clearly, and payment methods must be outlined if behavioral health providers want to receive patient payments and see those balances leave A/R.
This all needs to occur during the intake and admissions process to ensure providers gain peace of mind that their reimbursement will be secured from the payer and that their clients understand their financial responsibility before, during, and after treatment.
The Importance of Integrated Billing Software
To optimize intake and admissions for billing, providers need to find the right software. Billing software plays a huge role in ensuring data is collected accurately, coverage is verified, and all the necessary steps are taken to boost a bottom line. The billing software any behavioral health facility chooses to use should include the following features.
- Custom Billing Formats
- Electronic Prior Authorization
- Automated Charge Generation
- Accounts Receivable Trial Balance
- Detailed Reporting
- Benefits Verification
- Electronic Clearinghouse
- Quality Assurance Measures
- Escrow Accounts
Logik’s enterprise behavioral health software perfectly integrates the intake and admissions process with effective billing procedures. Schedule a consultation now.
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