When you run a medical practice, you take on a lot of risks to professionally and safely treat your patients. You also want to make the practice itself a well-functioning business. Make sure that your pre- and post-exam services are just as good as your bedside manner. By doing so, you can improve your practice’s reputation as a trusted provider.
But, every physician’s practice could make mistakes from time to time. That’s why business insurance is imperative to protect the practice. Insurance can even help cover losses should the practice make a patient billing mistake.
In the myriad that is medical billing, mistakes are fairly common. Often, these mistakes are easily rectified.
However, physicians need to realize that if they incorrectly bill a patient, then they run the risk of causing severe damages to a patient’s finances.
That’s why physicians need to carry a special type of business insurance. This special business insurance is errors and omissions coverage (E&O insurance).
What is E&O coverage?
E&O coverage is a type of liability insurance. But, it is more specific than a general business liability policy.
Think about E&O coverage in this way. Billing errors on the part of the business mean that patients could lose money. They could request compensation or file a lawsuit for lost finances. It is this insurance that will help you in case you have to give money back to patients.
How to avoid billing mistakes
Billing mistakes happen all the time. They’re just part of the small inconveniences of running a business.
However, your practice shouldn’t develop a reputation for billing mistakes. Correct practices can reduce the risk of E&O claims and improve patient relations.
Keep these tips in mind to avoid billing errors:
- Verify all information with patients before you treat them. Ensure that names, addresses and social security information are correct.
- Ask them if their insurance coverage or status has changed. Make sure the insurance information is correct before submitting claims.
- Ensure that bill processors are charging patients for the correct treatments. Don’t let a patient receive a bill for a service he or she did not need.
- Make sure that whoever processes billing is ethical. Make sure they also hold proper administrative and billing qualifications. If you bill patients through an outside party, make sure the processor is reputable.
- Put in place a billing checklist. Make it one that encourages processors to check billing statements before issuing them.
- Require that processors file the bills on time. That way you won’t experience penalties.
If you make a mistake in billing, always work with your patients to rectify the problem. Transparency and oversight are the correct ways to avoid these errors.
If you have questions, give the Joseph A. Britton Agency a call today at (908) 654-6464. We can help you get the <a "="">E&O coverage that you need. You can even get started online now.