Improve the value of your practice through back-office automation

Priscilla Holland

 

AT LAST YEAR’S Dental Economics Principles of Practice Management conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, Roger Levin, DDS, and Allen Schiff, CPA, discussed considerations for improving the value of your practice before retiring or selling your practice. One key point they addressed was practice automation, both in treating patients and in the back office.

Reports on practice valuations point to the importance of having streamlined collections.1 Technology that supports efforts for time-of-service collections, pretreatment estimates, and claims filing are key selling points when positioned to a buyer because they decrease collection times. Buyers want to see solutions that help combat a rise in uncollectable revenue, and the automation of back-office processes helps do just that.

Automation of back-office processes starts with understanding HIPAA standards. Under HIPAA, you may automate claims submissions, eligibility and benefit verifications, claims payment, and remittance advice. According to the 2016 CAQH Index Report, 74% of dental practices have adopted automated claims submission practices and 58% have adopted automated eligibility and benefit verification.2 But the same study shows automation of claim payments has been adopted by only 8% of dental practices, and none have adopted
automation of the remittance advice. 2 Full automation of the back-office processes—with claims submissions, eligibility, and benefit verification, along with claims payments and remittance advice—is a way for the dental and medical industry to save $1.9 billion annually.2

 

Get electronic claims payments via ACH and electronic remittance advice

Follow these four simple steps to begin receiving electronic claims payments and remittance advice to support automation of your back-office processes:

1. Contact your dental plan to enroll for the health-care EFT standard via ACH for claims payments and ERA. Receive payments directly in your bank account.

2. Determine how to receive ERA.

3. Verify that your practice management software will auto reconcile EFT and ERA.

4. Request delivery of remittance information from your bank.