Dental billing is essential to a dental practice’s revenue cycle management since 50.2% of US adults have dental insurance and roughly 65% of dental practices participate. Missed dental billing process cost the typical dental business 9% of recoverable income annually. Thus, dental billing specialists are crucial. Dental billing experts at Dental Revu know the dental billing procedure inside and out. This increases cash flow, patient care time, and revenue cycle management stability.
WHAT IS THE DENTAL BILLING PROCESS?
The dental billing is a big aspect of revenue cycle management whether or not your clinic accepts dental insurance. It’s crucial to understand dental billing as it affects your practice’s financial flow. The dental billing involves sending a finished treatment to an insurance company for reimbursement according to the patient’s plan. The insurance insurer pays the claim after checking the CDT codes. There are several processes, and missing ones might delay insurance company payment. Dental billing is a team sport for successful practices. The clinical staff, doctor, and dental billing administrator all contribute to dental billing success. Clinical notes, radiographs, periodontal charting, etc., are essential to filing a clean claim for prompt payment. Claim verification is another crucial dental billing step. This comprises subscriber, insurance, and CDT codes. Incorrect or missing claim information leads to needless insurance denials and delays.
ANALOG OR DIGITAL DENTAL BILLING PROCESS
The dental billing process can be an analog or digital procedure. For the old-school method of invoicing, you’ll need a prescription from the dentist with the full breakdown of costs written down. Make sure the name, degree, address, and most crucially the State Registration information of the Dentist are all printed in bold on the prescription paper. There must also be a receipt form detailing the total amount collected from the patient. Please provide your serial number on this receipt. The prescription and the receipt both need to be stamped and signed by the dentist. If necessary, this is a legal and proper bill that will be paid for.
The computerized billing system just requires the prescription or the bill to indicate the amount against the treatment. Once more, information about the dental clinic, including its registration number, will be required. Before giving it to the patient, the Dentist must print, stamp, and sign this electronic invoice/receipt.
WHY IS DENTAL BILLING IMPORTANT?
Dentists must understand dental billing to succeed. Assuming billing is fine risks for your future. Therefore, no dentist should have low collections due to not understanding their dental billing system. This article explains dental billing and how to charge dental insurance. Since it came into existence, Dental Revu has analyzed, simplified, and improved dental billing. As dental billing providers, we’ve seen that many dental teams don’t understand how this procedure works.
STEP-BY-STEP EXPLANATION OF THE DENTAL BILLING PROCES
This article thoroughly explains the dental billing . Though it seems simple, understanding this procedure can help your dental staff maximize patient and dental insurance reimbursements. Following a few simple steps makes the dental billing easier, as with any procedure.
STEP 1:
When patients make dentist appointments, they provide personal information. The subscriber’s name, phone number, address, email address, contact preferences, date of birth, employer or insurance plan name, insurance carrier, provider phone number, and insurance ID number will be included. The first step of the dental billing process is to gather patient information.
STEP 2:
After gathering the patient’s personal and insurance information, call the insurance company or use your insurance portal to verify coverage. This will detail their benefits and coverage. The patient’s clinical notes will include a code for each operation after a dentist visit. Your administrative staff usually handles provider documentation, review, and electronic signature in your dental software. Signing the day sheet every day ensures that your software and patient ledger accurately reflect what happened in the dentist’s chair.
STEP 3
Create, batch, and submit insurance claims using your program’s information. Track their status and attachments. The claim includes procedure codes, patient names, addresses, insurance information, and supporting documentation. Attach clinical notes, x-rays, periodontal charts, narratives, primary EOBs, intraoral photographs, etc. Refused or unpaid claims need follow-up. Make sure to do the insurance aging report. The billing team obtains a list of outstanding claims, calls the health insurer and argues for payment. Your collection rate and overhead depend on the biller’s skill and efficiency.
STEP 4:
Service fees or balance billing are levied to the patient (reimbursement model). Before leaving the dentist, patients can pay via mail or email. Next, submit a claim to their insurance company for payment. Accounts receivable may account for half of your revenue, so paying them is crucial.
STEP 5:
Enter your insurance claim payment into your practice management software when money is paid into your bank account. It records and accounts for all your data. It ends the claim lifecycle. Accurate patient billing and cash flow require fast payment posting.
STEP 6:
Regular reports include collections and account aging. You can evaluate your practice’s billing procedures once payments are posted and the claim is closed. Your dental software’s outstanding account, insurance aging, and net production and net collection reports show unpaid claims and patient balances.
LET DENTAL REVU HELP YOU IN RISING TO TOP
This overview should help you understand dental billing. Track your claim from its start. If you understand this concept, you’ll be better able to organize patient and insurance data and claim insurance and patient payments for your practice. Dental Revu dental billing specialists use these best practices and more to collect 100% of insurance company payments. Then you and your employees can securely focus on patient care and practice growth. Knowing the dental billing process helps maintain the health of your billing system, which can end up making or breaking your dental business.