When you go to a store, you pay the full amount at the cash register, and you leave with a product. It’s an easy, straightforward transaction. In dentistry, billing isn’t quite as simple. In fact, dental billing can be downright challenging! Keep reading to learn about the difficulties faced by administrative professionals and what you can do to benefit your practice the most.
Time Demands
One of the largest struggles of dental billing is the time commitment involved, especially if you work with insurance. After gathering a patient’s insurance information, your team has many tasks on their plate that can distract them from their primary role—checking patients in and out with a friendly smile.
Instead, they can be stuck on the phone with insurance companies or patients, doing research on codes, or getting bogged down with paperwork. Needless to say, these other tasks can suck up your front desk personnel’s time and attention away from patients who are in the practice being treated.
Verifying Insurance, Filing Claims, and Following Up
In addition to dedicating a substantial amount of their day to money matters, your front desk team likely finds working with insurance frustrating and mentally draining. They must confirm each patient’s information and coverage, file flawless claims, and then follow up on the phone with insurance companies to make sure payment comes on time. Without this complicated process, you may have a mountain of accounts receivable for money you are owed but have not been paid yet.
Everchanging Codes
Unfortunately, dental insurance codes are always updating with new regulations and standards, which means that it’s a constant battle to use the appropriate terminology and coding in filing claims. Use the wrong one, and you could have delayed or denied payment or even fraud charges.
Collecting Co-Pays
No one particularly likes asking for money. With insurance, you can estimate how much the company will pay, but if you’re wrong, you’ll need to contact the patient to pay the remaining balance, which irritates everyone and only further delays payment. Even if you are exclusively a fee-for-service practice, sometimes getting patients to pay their bills can still be challenging and may involve following up with them after they leave.
The good news is that you and your front desk team don’t have to face these difficulties alone. There are service companies that can handle these time-consuming tasks and challenges off your plate, helping you focus on delivering superior customer service from start to finish.
About Dental Support Specialties
The team at Dental Support Specialties is trained and experienced at handling money matters, including dealing with insurance issues and unpaid patient bill collecting. Our professionals understand the ins and outs of insurance, helping us work more efficiently and freeing your in-office team to devote their time and attention to your patients. We are fully HIPAA compliant and familiar with all the necessary codes and terminology necessary for insurance claims. Contact us now to see how we can benefit your practice.