The responsibilities embraced by electronic medical billing are as diverse as this particular field of medicine is. It is often equated with medical coding when in fact; the two are two related careers with actually very different responsibilities.
Both jobs are indispensable in the practice management industry. The job of the coder is choosing the correct diagnostic and procedure codes. The electronic medical billing specialist on the other hand makes the decisions based on these codes in order to achieve optimal reimbursements.
Electronic medical billing specialists can be best described as the income manager of the medical practice. Medical billing after all is often called the doctor’s key to getting paid. However, the responsibilities of a medical biller actually go beyond mere income management.
Electronic medical billing involves understanding insurances. In a world where patients no longer need to pay cash in order to pay for each visit since they have health insurance to take care of the payments for them, knowledge on how insurance works is an indispensable tool. That is why electronic medical billing professionals are trained not only to understand the medical billing industry, but health insurances, and all the complexities that go with it as well.
Electronic medical billing service thus includes basic, and major medical coverage plans, such as the Free-for-Service Plans, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), Point-of-Service Plans (POS), and Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs). There are many methods of billing patients and many insurance companies with which electronic medical billing professionals need to deal.
Invoicing Responsibilities
Invoicing is just another one of the many responsibilities of the electronic medical billing specialist. As stated earlier, an increasing amount of patient care is being funded through HMO-related insurance. Thus, the patient merely makes a small co-payment at the time of service and the rest of the doctor’s bills are taken care of by the insurance company.
Part of the responsibility of the electronic medical billing professional is to make sure that the patient gets invoiced. The record entry process is better done with the help of computer-aided tools such as medical billing software and solutions.
Medical Biller’s Hours
Electronic medical billers are just like average employees. Some of them may work for a large company or work independently. No matter the case, chances are they’ll be working forty regular office hours from Monday through Friday.
Most medical offices and clinics are often during the day and during that time, new patient entries are made that would have to be dealt with by the medical biller.
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