One of the most important aspects of a practice is your reception. The positions of the receptionist, the person verifying a patient’s insurance, and data entry are critical to the financial health of a practice. If the receptionist is rude or can’t multitask, you have a problem. The first (and last) person your patient meets on the phone or in person is the receptionist. The receptionist should have an upbeat personality and be able to handle many tasks at once. Too often vendors forget the important role the receptionist plays in their success. Unfortunately the receptionist is usually on the end of the line for monetary compensation.
receptionist
role
- Answer the phones and the questions a patient might have
- Make appointments and start patient registration, including insurance information
- Greet and check in patients
- Arrange follow-up appointments
- Call patients who didn’t show up
- Collect co-payments, coinsurance and deductibles
- Pull patient records for the next day and archive the records
- Anything else that the Provider decides to include under its responsibility
qualifications
- Warm and upbeat personality (better known as a sociable person), you don’t need to be a cheerleader.
- Focused and alert
- Above-average computer skills
- Better than average voice and phone manners
- Above average time management skills – multitasking
- good memory
- Mathematical Skills
- Don’t be afraid to ask for money
If any of these skills are lacking, the practice will eventually develop a financial problem. The problem can be minimal or a big problem. If your receptionist isn’t a “people person” or has trouble communicating, you could be losing patients. If there are problems with memory, math and/or time management, this will affect your demands. An example of failing to collect co-payments or obtaining the wrong insurance information. In the beginning it is important to have the correct personal data and insurance information.
insurance check
The frontend should work as a team. The person in charge of checking the insurance can spot a mistake on the part of the receptionist. If the receptionist makes a mistake regarding personal information or insurance information, the person can correct the problem. By calling the insurance company, the person will know immediately if they have the correct information. If the information is incorrect, the patient does not exist in the insurance company’s database. The person checking the insurance should always call the insurance company. Even if multiple patients have the same insurance, don’t assume the policies are the same. Remember that the employer decides what coverage the employee will receive. Another point; two patients could be employed by the same company but have different coverages. The more information you gather from the insurance company, the better you can play at their ballpark. Remember, it’s their stadium. The person reviewing the insurance should ask questions about your area of expertise.
role
- Check benefit
- Request authorization and/or recommendations from reputable vendors/third party administrators
- Information of the data collector and/or the provider.
qualifications
- Assertive personality
- Likes to investigate problems
- Good communication skills
- Experience and knowledge of the insurance industry.
Failure to verify your patient’s insurance coverage can result in high claims and/or high write-offs. Bad or missing information makes the backend (accounting department) a nightmare. Bad information leads to a decrease in gross income = low profit.
data entry
Data Entry Another link in the chain; Incorrect information entered into the computer will result in claims being rejected. For denied applications, 30-60 days becomes 90-120 days to receive payment. Your liquidity is affected.
The role of data entry
- Completion of patient registration
- Booking Permissions
- postage
Data Entry Qualifications
- Above-average computer skills
- Knowledge of CPT codes and ICD-9 codes
- detail oriented.
Every position in the frontend has a direct impact on your accounts receivable. The billing department cannot do a good job if the initial information was wrong. Incorrect information means that claims are either paid within 90 – 120 days or high write-offs occur. In today’s market, a practice cannot afford incorrect data. As a coach tells his players, mental mistakes are unacceptable. Yes, people make mistakes, but I’ve seen where practices don’t verify insurance coverage and/or don’t have permits/recommendations, resulting in write-offs. Another problem is incomplete personal data or incorrect insurance information, which causes the payment to arrive in 90-120 days and causes a drop in cash flow.
Running a practice is difficult, but it can be done. A practice can be profitable! In order to run a profitable practice, the vendor needs to remember and understand how important the front end is to their success.
