The dental billing process is a critical part of any dental practice, but there are many myths and misconceptions surrounding it. Understanding the realities behind these misconceptions can help free up valuable time and resources while providing better care for your patients.
Myth 1: Dental offices handle their own billing
This is at the top of our list of common dental myths for a reason! Many dental offices are under the impression that all billing must be handled in-house to remain compliant and minimize administrative costs. On the contrary, outsourcing your billing to a third-party provider can help reduce headaches and free up resources for patient care. Here’s why:
Third-Party Providers Are Cost Effective
Outsourcing your billing to an established third-party provider ensures you have access to experienced professionals who can provide services at a much lower cost than creating and maintaining an in-house team. These experts can help with coding, reimbursement, collections, accounts receivable and more.
Having access to these experts not only saves you money but can also increase your practice’s cash flow.
Reduce Administrative Workload
Third-party providers also offer automated processes that can save time by cutting down on manual data entry and streamlining the billing process. By taking away most of the administrative burden involved with handling your own billing, you’ll have more time to devote to providing better patient care.
Additionally, since many third-party providers offer customer support 24/7, you won’t need to worry about having an extra staff member present when problems arise.
Increased Security
Outsourcing billing gives you peace of mind knowing that your patients’ sensitive health information is safe from potential data breaches or other security issues that could arise if it was handled in-house. Many third-party providers have stringent security protocols in place that protect both patient privacy and office records from unauthorized access or misuse.
Myth 2: Digital billing is difficult to set up and manage
This very common one is next on our list of dental myths. The modern world has gone digital, so it’s no surprise that dental practices are increasingly turning to digital billing as a way to save time, money and resources. While some may think that switching to a digital system will be too difficult or expensive, the opposite is true: with the right provider, setting up and managing digital billing can be quick and easy. Here’s why:
Simplified Onboarding Process
A good digital billing provider should have an onboarding process that’s straightforward and efficient, making it easy for your practice to transition from paper filing or manual data entry into a full-fledged digital billing system. You should expect complete training on how the system works.
Real-Time Accessibility
With the right setup, you won’t have to wait until the end of the month to reconcile accounts when using a digital billing service; all financial information is available in real-time so you can make quicker decisions about patient accounts and days receivable.
Additionally, most of these services offer mobile access so you can keep track of payments even when away from your office.
Increased Flexibility and Automation
Digital billing systems are much more flexible than standard paper forms, allowing you to customize invoices and payment plans according to individual patient’s needs. Many modern systems come with features like automated payment reminders that take care of administratively mundane tasks for you without having to manually remind every patient about their bill each month.
Myth 3: It’s impossible to reduce administrative costs associated with billing
It is possible to reduce administrative costs associated with billing. In fact, there are many strategies that dental practices can implement to achieve this goal. Some methods include:
Outsourcing Services
Outsourcing services to a third-party provider can drastically reduce costs since you don’t have to pay for overhead expenses like software and equipment.
Additionally, these providers are experienced professionals who are up to date on reimbursement, coding and collections so you won’t have to hire additional staff for those tasks.
Automated Processes
Utilizing digital systems for billing also comes with many added benefits such as automated processes for data entry and payment reminders that can save time and money without sacrificing accuracy or efficiency.
This technology frees your team from manually entering patient information multiple times and allows more time to be devoted to patient care while simultaneously cutting down on overall administrative workloads.
Reduce Personnel Costs
By reducing personnel costs through outsourcing or automation, you’ll be able to free up resources that can be shifted toward other parts of the practice — like improving patient care or increasing marketing efforts.
So, there are numerous strategies practices of all sizes can implement to cut down on administrative costs associated with billing without sacrificing accuracy or efficiency when it comes to getting paid for services rendered.
Find a remote dental billing company near me
Adams Dental Consulting is committed to providing dental practices with quality remote billing services. Our experienced team has helped numerous practices streamline their billing process and improve cash flow. Other benefits:
- Onboarding assistance
- Mobile access
- Web-based system
- Automated payment reminders
- Real-time financial visibility
- Flexible payment plans customized to patients’ needs
Thanks for reading our common dental myths and facts for dental practices. If you are in need of dental practice management help, contact us today!