Title: Do You Make These Simple Mistakes In Oncology Billing Service?
1(No Transcript)
2Do You Make These Simple Mistakes In Oncology
Billing Service?
- Greater efficiency in medical billing leads to
greater reimbursements. The same holds true for
oncology where although care is the topmost
priority of any physician, the practice needs to
be in a financially stable form too. From billing
and coding, processing of claims, and chasing
patients for unpaid bills, the oncology billing
and coding services department need to be on
their feet all the time. - Oncology constantly undergoes technological and
procedural updates (guidelines provided by the
American Society of Clinical Oncology). Though
there is little room for errors or
inefficiencies, some as those mentioned below do
occur. - Hence, it is essential for the oncology billing
and coding team to stay abreast with the
revisions related to codes, documentation,
and revenue cycle management (RCM). - Numerous errors are made by coders if they are
not updated with the recurrent changes. Failure
to capture the CPT codes along with usage of
incorrect modifiers can lose a great deal of
revenue.
3Do You Make These Simple Mistakes In Oncology
Billing Service?
- No framework exists for recording the claims in a
timely manner. It is imperative to document and
file the claims within the schedule. Usually, the
filing limit for most insurance payers is 30
days beyond this, it could be denied for
erroneous filing. - Coders are also sometimes not well versed with
bone marrow procedures, blood transfusions, and
transplantations leading to a loss of revenue.
Reading and understanding the EoB (Explanation of
Benefits) is vital (understanding what and why of
the payments) as well. Under-coding or
over-coding can lead to revenue losses too. - Neglecting codes related to equipment used in
oncology (e.g. radiation oncology) can lead to
incorrect medical billing and coding. Continuous
training and awareness should be the norm for
oncology billers and coders (awareness of the
latest codes and modifiers - AMA frequently
updates the oncology codes, office visit codes,
in-patient visit codes, etc.). - Many coders tend to code as per the diagnosis
only, wherein it must be coded as per the
decision taken.
4Do You Make These Simple Mistakes In Oncology
Billing Service?
- Ensuring insurance verification of cancer
patients before the treatment is becoming
increasingly important due to new rules and
regulations and high-cost cancer therapies.
Missing out on this step can cause a great deal
of payment issues, especially co-pays. - Another error often overlooked leading to cash on
the table is not reviewing reports or following
up on the unpaid claims. Claim filing must be
based on automated processes along with a robust
system which supports billing and administration. - Not checking the clearinghouse reports is another
error committed by the oncology billing and
coding team, predominantly if there are new
reports coming in. Another error often overlooked
is the non-compliance of oncology billing
guidelines leading to a tremendous amount of
reimbursements not accrued. - Usually, on the part of the physician, errors can
occur when he tends to leave out documenting the
negative findings they have incurred during tests
and examinations. The physician must ensure that
along with the positive, the negative findings
too are included in the examination level as
costs have been incurred on these tests and
examinations as well.
5Do You Make These Simple Mistakes In Oncology
Billing Service?
- Errors also occur when drug units listed are
incorrect. This usually occurs as HCPCS has set
different codes for specific billing units, but
the drugs are available as single or
multiple-dose vials. Hence, to get appropriate
reimbursements, it is imperative to document this
appropriately. - The place of service and type of service are
interconnected. Sometimes, errors occur if the
place of service is not aptly mentioned. For a
comprehensive oncology billing practice, these
details must not be ignored. - Especially under radiation oncology,
documentation details that are sometimes missing
are the initial treatment plan or the radiation
order, the physician's signature or attestation,
radiation treatment records and/or plan,
physician instructions for the specific radiation
treatment and its management, and/or the
dispensation of the billed IMRT delivery. - Time is Money, and is especially indispensable in
the medical discipline. The team at Medical
Billers and Coders (MBC) are specialists in the
field of radiology and oncology-related medical
billing services, and ensure timely services with
no money being left on the table.
6Do You Make These Simple Mistakes In Oncology
Billing Service?
Since cancer treatment is very complex, the
documentation and tracking of tests, diagnosis,
and treatment, along with the required medical
billing and coding, it gets very critical to
obtain reimbursements at each stage. Hence, the
team at Medical Billers and Coders are
tech-savvy, aware of the constant changing
guidelines and rules, and provides an error and
denial-free service to their customers
nationwide. To know more about our Oncology
billing and coding services, contact us
at info_at_medicalbillersandcoders.com/888-357-3226.