Planning For Your Future

These days, more employees than ever have access to "employee assistance programs" (EAPs) that can provide these individuals with a limited number of low- or no-cost consultations with therapists, counselors, and other mental health professionals. After the "free" EAP visits are exhausted, patients may opt to continue seeking services and either pay out of pocket or have the bill sent to their primary insurance provider.

While this arrangement is beneficial to those who would like to try out a new counselor or who may have trouble affording the pre-insurance cost of therapy, it can be a recordkeeping nightmare for behavioral health employees. Read on for three specific ways in which using a billing service can provide efficiency and cost savings for your behavioral health clinic.

It Saves Time

Trying to figure out who and how to bill for an appointment or treatment program can be a time-consuming process for office staff. By investing in a billing service, you'll be able to outsource many of these duties and focus on the important work you're doing. This will also cut down on calls to your office with questions about a bill received.

A billing service like DB Management & Associates can also ensure that the bill (or insurance claim) is processed the same day as the appointment. Staff absences and other unexpected issues can mean that bills sit until someone is able to process them, but using software to handle this removes the potential for delay due to human error or situations outside one's control. And because most insurance companies will automatically reject "late" bills, having this process automated all but eliminates the odds that a billing statement will slip through the cracks.

It Saves Money

By reducing the amount of employee time devoted to billing matters, you'll be able to cut costs for your business. And a billing service that ensures bills are sent to the right providers will decrease the amount of time spent tracking down the person or insurance provider responsible for payment. .

It Provides Efficiency and an Electronic Paper Trail

The time and money savings offered by billing software contribute to its increased efficiency in the behavioral health context. And by giving staff the ability to instantly log into a client's account and see where a bill was directed, how the insurance company responded, and whether there were any errors in the way the visit was coded, you'll have access to a wealth of information that makes it much easier to make executive-level billing or classification decisions.