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Choose a billing service

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, September 16, 2008

Selecting a billing service is the key step to building your billing process. If your hospitalist program does not conduct in-house coding audits, the billing company or service you choose may assist you with this task. Consider the following steps when evaluating each service for selection:

  • Seek recommendations and testimonials from people you trust who have used billing services.
  • Pay special attention to the medical specialty in which the billing service has experience. For example, a billing service who specializes in outpatient orthopedics might not understand the nuances of inpatient billing.
  • Ask if the service submits bills electronically.
  • Determine the average number of days in the AR (accounts receivable).
  • Check references. Billing services should provide at least two references for hospitalist/inpatient practices for which they currently bill.
  • Determine how many practices the billing service currently has and how many clients have withdrawn in the past year, and for what reasons.
  • Conduct an on-site interview at the billing service.
  • Once you selected a billing service, meet with the representatives on a regular basis. Also consider taking minutes on concerns for follow-up.

The above is an excerpt from The Hospitalist Program Management Guide 2nd edition by Kenneth G. Simone, DO, and Jeffrey R. Dichter, MD, FACP, published by HCPro, Inc.

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