Podiatry Billing Mistakes You Need to Avoid

Podiatry billing is a complicated process. You might be overwhelmed with so many codes, which can be challenging for every billing department. 

Any kind of error done by staff members in filing claims can bring a huge loss of time and money. Also, continuous errors can negatively influence your relationship with patients. Hence, questions like “What are the podiatry billing errors to avoid?” or “Can they be avoided completely”? might come to your mind.

We have the answers to your questions. Keep reading this article to know some of the major podiatry billing errors that you should completely avoid to steer clear of loss of money and energy. Also, if you are looking for accurate and cost-effective services, then go for podiatry billing services by Hippocratic solutions. 

Here are a few podiatry billing errors that you should keep an eye on:

Don’t make data entry errors

People often tend to make data entry errors, which can cost a lot to the company as they can make an insurance firm dismiss the claims. Some of these errors include spelling mistakes in patients’ names, false policy numbers, mistakes in the number of nights the patient stayed, and wrong medication or medication amount. Thus, it is vital to check for any mismatch in the patient data. 

Other errors such as the patient’s gender or birthday can also be the reason for claims rejection. If the patient is dependent on the primary insurance holder, it is more important to hold correct and same data, which comprises policy and group number. 

It is always necessary to check the information twice. The right procedure codes and diagnosis are compulsory for the person to be able to reimburse the healthcare claims. Here are some of the conditions that may lead to invalidation of claims: 

• Incorrect assumptions made by the insurer  
• Using wrong codes can create trouble
• Begins treatment without a medical emergency
• Performs the method without authorization

Coding errors are very common

Another common error is a mismatch between the diagnosis code of the patient and the treatment code. Coding errors can be problematic for a Podiatrist as the patient might get the feeling that he or she has been cheated. 

This might make the patient lose trust in the doctor. You can choose to deny the claims, but you might end up losing a patient with such kinds of errors. Another type of coding mistake that is very common is up-coding or under-coding. In such cases, the patient’s bills are not the same as their services. 

Stay away from duplicate billing

Duplicate billing errors can be made by anyone, where the exact medical treatment is billed twice or more. This can lead to submitting a claim again instead of sending a follow-up claim. 

Such claims can be mainly classified into two parts: exact duplicate and suspect duplicate. If you want to get rid of duplicate bills, start running chart audits, as it can help curb mistakes from proliferating.

Do not use outdated references

Ensure that the staff members are aware of the updated changes in the medical codes. The references that coders take have to be constantly updated whenever there is any modification in the coding system. 

You might face severe loss if the new references do not instantly replace the outdated references. 

Unbundling errors

Unbundling mistakes might take place if similar services that are under one medical code are priced independently. The staff needs to go through a lot of training to ensure that services are billed in the right manner. 

Inspect the benefits that can be availed

You can avoid a huge number of mistakes if the benefits are checked and validated at the source where the patient takes a service. However, if a patient is a frequent visitor, it can be difficult to control from taking his or her newly entered data. 

This can lead to many errors in case of any difference in the patient’s insurance provider, the terms of service, or even the policy limit. 

Thus, irrespective of whether the patient has recently registered or is a regular one, make sure to check and agree on information such as healthcare benefits, authorizations, co-payment options, as well as the coverage term with the insurer. 

All this data has a significant role to play while billing the patients without making any mistakes.

Build precise electronic health records

There is the possibility of claims getting rejected if a medical practitioner pens a prescription in an ungraspable way. Coders should come forward and clear their doubts by asking relevant questions if they find difficulty in reading the codes. 

However, you can go for automatic billing systems as an alternative option to avoid such errors. But lack of training in using the system may cause additional billing mistakes in EHR. 

Ensure that you provide detailed and complete data

You might face rejection or pause of reimbursement if you give vague data to support the claim to payers. 

Errors such as excluding the fourth and fifth digit or failing to link diagnosis code to Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code or Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) can negatively impact the procedure of processing the claims. 

This happens mainly due to errors made by employees. But, it can also happen due to wrong diagnosis information given by physicians. 

Conclusion

Mostly, it is human beings who are behind the cause of any error. Thus, make sure that your billing staff has proper training in coding jobs. It is important for people to use the newest coding books for reference to avoid performing errors that might cost you a lot. 

Billing mistakes will not only take away your hard-earned money but can be very bothersome to the patients and create problems in your practice in the future. Even the most skilled and experienced billing professionals can make such errors. Thus, this article will help you to realize the errors that you shouldn’t commit.