Telemedicine billing guide for a healthcare provider
Telemedicine was once looked at as a stepping stone for the global healthcare system that was still a long way from becoming a norm. However, due to the pandemic, it became one of the primary means to access healthcare and was thus adopted quickly by healthcare providers.
Countries around the world are now adopting telemedicine and remote billing as an integral part of their respective healthcare sectors in a bid to make sure that:
Their healthcare workers are kept safe from contracting COVID–19;
Their healthcare organization and workforce are not overloaded;
All billing cycles are completed on time;
All billing cycles are free from mistakes; and
To make sure that the healthcare institutions can generate enough revenue to not only stay afloat but also procure the necessary supplies as well as hire talent in a bid to deliver commendable medical assistance in these trying times.
With that stated and out of the way, it is time to take a look into a few aspects of telemedicine billing that can help healthcare workers seamlessly use remote billing services offered by reputed service providers.
Telemedicine billing – a few short terms that you need to be familiar with
The first order of business is to be familiar with a few terms that will be essential while formulating a bill and the terms are as follows –
The site of origin – this is essential if the patient availed his or her medical insurance benefits. This represents the location where the patient got treated for an ailment. The location should be an approved address.
Distant site – is a term that is used to refer to the location where the healthcare provider delivers medical assistance to a patient via a telecommunications system. In this context, it is essential to keep in mind that this term can be used by a physician, a PA, an NP, a certified nurse, a certified midwife, a clinical psychologist, a social worker, a registered dietician, or a clinical nurse – while formulating their telemedicine billing.
Type of practice – as the term suggests, it clarifies to the payer about the medical service being paid for.
The telemedicine billing cycle procedure at a glance
A typical telemedicine billing cycle begins with verifying eligibility and obtaining prior authorization, if required, for the patient availing telemedicine services. Verification should include details about the place of service along with the type of telehealth service that has been provided to the payer.
Once services are provided, next is telemedicine coding. These codes are formulated in a way to assist payers, healthcare providers, and patients to determine the medical necessity of the procedure and the coverage.
Why include these codes?
Well, these codes are in conjunction with the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Hence, they are set up in a manner to correspond to an index of possible medical services that have to be rendered by a medical practitioner to the patient that further corresponds to the diagnosis delivered.
As soon as all the above steps are completed, the billing department can bill the payer.
Conclusion
The COVID–19 pandemic changed the world as people knew it. It brought with it some major changes and that includes the rapid adoption of telemedicine and related remote healthcare services. This meant that healthcare workers will have some difficulties at first when they start using the telemedicine services for billing purposes. If they can follow the information shared in this post with due diligence then they can minimize their worries by many folds. Or else, they can always take help from a revered company that offers telemedicine billing services at reasonable rates, for the best results.
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