Overcoming Unique Podiatry Medical Billing Challenges with A Proficient RCM Process

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Awareness about foot care is slowly improving and people have started recognizing the importance of consulting a specialist instead of their primary care provider. Increasing public awareness coupled with better subsidies and healthcare reforms can dramatically increase demand for podiatry services in the years to come. However, Podiatrists may not be prepared to face and overcome the Unique Podiatry Medical Billing Challenges with A Proficient RCM Process has to face, given the rise in the patient walk-in.

Podiatry Billing is a very specialized field of medical billing and comes with its very own set of challenges. Without in-depth knowledge of podiatry and extensive experience in podiatry billing, general billing service providers or even in-house specialists can’t attempt to maximize revenue.

On average, with rising costs and billing challenges, Podiatrists lose about 20% of their potential revenue every year. Inefficient billing practices and a lack of a well-coordinated RCM process can cost podiatrists more than just a few denied claims.

Two Major Podiatry Medical Billing Challenges Faced by Podiatrists are:

1. Underpayments by insurance companies: Podiatrists lose around 10% of their annual revenue due to insurance underpayments and are often unable to even identify this loss of revenue correctly.

2. Patient billing: Patient billing is yet another complexity that is difficult to overcome, given the lack of understanding on the part of patients regarding benefits and podiatry terms mentioned on their bills.

The only way to effectively overcome these challenges is by resorting to proficient Revenue Cycle Management, specific to Podiatry. Paying attention to key parameters of the RCM can enhance the productivity of the process as well as add to the value offered by podiatric care providers.

• Monitoring and reviewing all outgoing billing statements should be the first and foremost step of the RCM process to ensure correct payment and processing by public and private insurers.

• Checking the payments received from all insurers and matching them with bills filed can expose any underpayments at the right time. Early detection can facilitate timely claim filing or correction of documents which can lead to complete payment by the insurers.

• Responding to insurers’ queries regarding claims and filing appeals for denied claims within a set turn-around time can improve payment rates and boost revenue.

• Podiatry rules and claim procedures vary from insurer to insurer and are distinct from general billing practices followed by primary care providers. Paying attention to these specialty billing procedures can eliminate the chances of error and underpayment by reimbursing parties.

• Improving bill collection from patients by providing better customer service and establishing an interactive interface to explain the billing process to patients can dramatically increase revenue as well.