Double Checking Demographics & Eligibility Verification
Inaccurate or incomplete patient demographics are the number one cause for claim rejections. Insuring that thorough and accurate patient information is obtained and recorded is the second step of the revenue cycle. The following tips can empower front-office staff, optimize your patient demographic information collection—and improve patient satisfaction in the process.
Is education available for your front-office staff? These employees are the portal for the business office as well as your patients, and they need to know your software’s capabilities for gathering patients’ demographic and insurance information, capturing referrals, and optimizing time-of-service collections.
Does your software enable easy verification of patient identification and insurance at each encounter? It should be a simple process to compare returning patients’ insurance information against what you have on file prior to the patient’s appointment, so staff are prepared to correct conflicting information when he or she arrives.
Does your practice management system provide secure, user-friendly pre-registration online? This feature can be a crowd-pleaser, allowing patients to enter their information via a portal prior to their appointment. Other systems let patients use tablets or scanned paper forms to input this information for in-office registration.
Does your system suit the needs of the practice? For example, if your practice is growing and busy, are there software shortcuts that can save time? If the software specifies must-fill fields, this can help front-office staff avoid errors by missing required data. In addition, look for an auto-scheduling feature that can book follow-up appointments before the patient leaves the office.
An educated, engaged front-office staff, plus practice management software with sophisticated patient demographic collection and a range of features, can be powerful resources in a functioning revenue cycle process. Practices that understand front-office challenges stand a better chance of getting the best end result—proper, timely payment.
