In an age where efficiency matters most, more and more healthcare organizations are using cutting-edge technologies to streamline their operations and provide better care to patients.
In fact, a recent survey found that 81 percent of healthcare executives admit the pace of digital transformation for their organization is accelerating. Further, 93 percent are innovating with a sense of urgency.
One of the easiest ways your medical practice can use technology to enhance your operations is by switching to a purpose-built medical billing solution. Doing so can have a profound impact on your organization, making it faster and easier to collect and process payments.
Why Use Medical Billing Software?
Medical billing software automates the healthcare billing process, enabling medical practices to abandon manual, paper-based workflows.
Switching to a medical billing provider saves a tremendous amount of time and effort and frees staff members to focus on other priorities. At the same time, it can help boost revenue, improve payment collection, and optimize the patient experience.
Key Trends in Medical Billing
Demand for medical billing software is accelerating heading into 2024, with the following trends influencing adoption.
Growing concern about supply chain issues
Global supply chain issues are forcing healthcare providers to reconsider the processes they depend on to maintain operations. For example, the current paper shortage can make it difficult for practices to print invoices in the first place.
Further, paper billing also requires ink and toner — and the cooperation of an efficient postal delivery system. Suffice it to say that this is a complex, expensive, and fragile system that depends on many interconnected resources.
Switching to medical billing software can be a great way to overcome these supply chain shortages and ensure notifications always get to customers on time — regardless of what’s happening with global supply chains.
Rising demand for digital services
As we head deeper into the digital era, customer expectations are shifting. For example, 50 percent of patients say they are now comfortable contacting their doctors digitally.
At the same time, patients are increasingly expecting their healthcare providers to use cutting-edge technologies. As it turns out, more than a quarter of patients report switching medical providers due to a poor digital health experience.
Declining revenue for healthcare providers
Healthcare providers are still trying to recover from COVID-19 related downturns, with the pandemic resulting in a loss of $323 billion in 2020.
Unfortunately, patient volumes remain low heading into 2022. As a result, providers are looking for ways to recover revenue wherever possible. And improving medical billing can help.
How to Increase Workplace Productivity with Medical Billing Software
With a new medical billing solution in place, your practice can enjoy the following benefits.
Tightening security
The traditional approach to medical billing involves complicated workflows and manual data entry. Sensitive data often winds up sitting in multiple systems and passing through the hands of numerous team members.
It’s possible to enhance security and prevent data breaches by using medical billing software that is fully encrypted and up to date with the latest security features.
Avoiding collection agencies
When patients don’t pay their bills, invoices wind up going to collections — and this doesn’t help anyone. Collection agencies annoy patients and they aren’t always effective. It can take months or even years to collect payments and settle accounts, leaving the provider on the hook during that time.
By using medical billing software with an online payment component, customers can have an easier time submitting payments — resulting in faster payments with less hassle for all stakeholders.
Lowering turnover
Medical providers across the country are dealing with widespread staffing shortages, as workers are quitting in droves. In many cases, employees are quitting due to burnout and stress.
As such, medical providers are increasingly turning to medical billing software to improve satisfaction and increase workplace productivity. Medical billing software makes life easy for staff members, enabling them to complete jobs faster and make fewer mistakes. This can improve job satisfaction, potentially lowering turnover and leading to better employee reviews.
What to Look for in a Medical Billing Software Provider
The medical billing software market is highly saturated, with many vendors offering similar solutions. This can make it difficult to choose a platform. As you narrow down your options and demo platforms, keep your eye out for the following features.
EHR/EMR integration
The medical billing software you select should seamlessly integrate with whatever EMR or EHR software you’re already using. The provider should also be able to create a custom integration if they can’t match your needs. In other words, you shouldn’t have to change vendors to accommodate new billing software.
Easy appointment scheduling
The billing platform you offer customers should serve as a one-stop-shop where customers can pay bills, submit questions, access medical records, and schedule future appointments.
Detailed analytics and reporting
Team members should be able to instantly access a range of analytics, including historical billing and medical data, at the click of a button.
HIPAA compliance
Not all billing software is built for healthcare environments. It’s critical to find a solution that complies with the latest Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards to ensure compliance.
Further Reading: How to Choose the Right Medical Billing Software
Practice managers are incredibly busy, which means you don’t have tons of time to spend searching for a new billing solution. To help expedite the vendor selection process, our team put together a handy guide about how to choose the right medical billing and practice management software.
Download your free copy of the guide today.
