An often-overlooked area of Patient Engagement is the accuracy of patient information, especially crucial for smooth physical therapy billing processes. This can significantly impact claims processing and reimbursement timelines. Simple details such as Name, Address, DOB, Sex, Insurance, Insurance ID, Who is insured, etc., can cause delays or even claim denials if incorrect.
Apollo offers “Patient Information Submissions” which allows the prospective patient and/or their guardian to fill out paperwork (through the internet) prior to coming in. All this information that is filled out will “merge” into Apollo so you are not having to re-type it into the Apollo software. In fact, it allows the prospective patient/guardian to fill out paperwork prior to even having an appointment, if you choose.
By having the patient/Guardian fill out the information, and not the clinic, will save your office staff time and energy on the phone. You can then take this information and verify all that has been put in, before even allowing the person an appointment.
For those that use this feature they say it is invaluable to run the clinic. It offers an overview of all the information needed to verify with the insurance or patient eligibility about the potential claims before the patient is treated.
Beyond just verifying if the patient can receive treatment at your clinic, you will often catch key factors about their insured/payor plan that you can address with the insured/patient/guardian, before the first treatment. Do they have changes that they do not know about on their plan?
Examples:
- Do you need a referral/authorization before treating
- How many visits are allowed in a certain time frame
- Is your clinic in or out of network
- If allowed what is your deductible
- If allowed what is your co-payment.
You can now use this information to inform your patient with the accurate details that you have verified. By doing so, you can prevent any roadblocks before treatment begins and before submitting a claim. Simply put, you should never receive a denial stating, “Incorrect patient information, cannot process claim.” If you encounter such a message, it indicates that you are not proactively protecting your clinic with the most basic tool in your toolkit: pre-verifying.
Additionally, the patient in filling out this demographic paperwork will be filling out a good portion of the Subjective part of the note. This information automatically goes into the note once you merge it into the system saving time in the initial note.
With streamlined physical therapy billing services like this, clinics can optimize their reimbursement processes, ensuring accuracy and efficiency, especially in handling Medicare physical therapy billing.