By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
    May 16, 2025
    Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
    May 16, 2025
    Choosing the Right Supplement Manufacturer for Your Brand
    May 1, 2025
    Engineering Temporary Hospitals for Extreme Weather
    April 24, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Can Thinking Younger Make You Live Longer?
    April 20, 2011
    Image
    Obesity’s Outlook Unchanged
    June 13, 2011
    When It’s An Emergency Elderly Not Treated As Well in Hospitals
    July 16, 2011
    Latest News
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
    The Critical Role of Healthcare in Personal Injury Recovery: A Comprehensive Guide for Victims
    May 14, 2025
    The Backbone of Successful Trials: Clinical Data Management
    April 28, 2025
    Advancing Your Healthcare Career through Education and Specialization
    April 16, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: 5 Tips for Preventing Reimbursement Loss in Radiology Billing
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Finance > 5 Tips for Preventing Reimbursement Loss in Radiology Billing
BusinessFinanceRadiology

5 Tips for Preventing Reimbursement Loss in Radiology Billing

Andy Salmen
Last updated: August 2, 2014 8:00 am
Andy Salmen
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE

medium_2404796537Rules and regulations have made the coding and billing for medical services more complex for all segments of the industry, including radiologic groups.

medium_2404796537Rules and regulations have made the coding and billing for medical services more complex for all segments of the industry, including radiologic groups. Radiologists and radiologic groups have a need to adequately document healthcare records, correctly apply billing codes and accurately charge insurers and other third-party payers for radiological services.

Whether you outsource radiologic billing or have it processed by in-house staff, it is to your benefit to implement best practices which capture, audit and process every procedure and document your billing costs to prevent reimbursement loss.

Here are five tips for making cost-effective improvements that can enhance your radiology billing and reimbursement process.

More Read

The cost of healthcare has increased twice as much as income since 1998
Would Consumer Accountability for Healthcare Actually Reduce Costs? [INFOGRAPHIC]
Study: Hospital Discharge of Medicare Beneficiaries Increased Utilization Rates and Spending Post Discharge
Scanadu Rocks Indiegogo For $1.1M … And Counting
5 Healthcare Industry Issues of 2016
Do You Need a YouTube Channel for Your Medical Practice?

1. Accurate Coding and Documentation

Establish communication between the radiologists and the billing staff to promote proper procedure codes and billing, which depends on accurate and detailed documentation.  If radiological records are inadequate or inaccurate, it leads to faulty claims.  One of the primary keys to increasing your reimbursement rate involves the quality of your documentation.  

Providing your billing staff with complete and accurate information not only improves compliance, but also speeds up the billing and collections process.  For example, an inaccurate dictation may lead to a denial, such as a discrepancy between the head of the report that says an “MRI of the head without contrast” and the body of the report that says “with and without contrast”.

2. Review Denial Rate

Even in well-run radiological groups, up to 40% of denials have to do with eligibility errors.  To reduce the rate of denials, meet with your billers to review and discuss the denial results and identify the source of faulty data.

Recommendation includes making an online check when scheduling procedures, such as CT’s. MR’s and PETs.  Referrers also have a stake in the problem because it is likely that they are experiencing the same issues due to bad data.  Make suggestions on how they can improve their processes to minimize denials, such as proposing that that they conduct eligibility reviews.

3. Review Contracts

Conduct a thorough evaluation of your current service contracts.  When conducting payer negotiations, demonstrate your service volume as well as the benefits of your service offerings. Explain how the low rate of reimbursement and denials affects your group.  It is important to use reliable and accurate data when giving examples of pitfalls in the payer’s system.

This is where having reporting modules that support your information and provide strong payment analysis reports improves you trustworthiness and leverage when negotiating with payers.

4. Collect Patient Portion of the Payment Up Front

If a patient can pay in advance, employ a service to charge their checking accounts or credit card each month.  With HSAs and high-deductible plans becoming commonplace, consumers are taking on more responsibility for a larger portion of bills for medical services.  Collecting payment at the time radiological services are rendered, or setting up automated payment schedule before the patient goes in for scheduled procedures can significantly reduce loss in medical billing.

5. Eliminate Referral Errors

Avoid doing studies that end up being denied because they do not meet the same type of study as the referring physician ordered.  A physician may order a MRI and specifies “without contrast”.  However, the radiologist completes the study “with and without contrast” and bills for both.  The claim will likely end up being denied because it does not match the order received from the referring physician.

If there are questions about the protocol, speak to the referring physician to get clarification or an up-to-date referral.

Photo: Leo Reynolds via photopin cc

TAGGED:billing
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Clinical Expertise
Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
Health care
May 18, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
Health
May 15, 2025
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Learn how to Renew your Medical Card in West Virginia
Health
May 15, 2025
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction heart treatment
Dr. Klaus Rentrop Shares Acute Myocardial Infarction
Cardiology
May 13, 2025

You Might also Like

Patient-Lead-Generation-Physician-Marketing-Medical-Practice-Marketing
FinanceHospital Administration

Calculating the Lifetime Value of a New Patient for Your Medical Practice

August 10, 2015

ObamaCare vs. the Antitrust Law

August 25, 2011

Unnecessary Health Care Expenditures

September 13, 2012

More Facility Fee Dysfunction: Infused Drugs

January 30, 2013
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?