4 Important Billing Practices for Therapists
When running a behavioral therapy health practice, in addition to treating patients, it is important to have a billing system in place. As much as you want to help your clients, you also need to make sure you are taking care of your business needs. Medical billing can be a complicated process with multiple steps, which is why it is crucial to educate yourself on the billing process.
Validate Client's Insurance
As a therapist, it is natural to want to help people as much as you can. However, you still need to do the intake paperwork necessary for each client before you see them. You are going to want to validate their coverage before you see them. This will allow you to see what type of services are covered by their insurance and will allow you to adjust your treatment based on what is covered. You should also dedicate time or have a billing service at the start of each year to verify each patient's coverage.
Get the Right Documentation
Second, to have accurate billing, you need to make sure you get the right documentation going. That means getting their name, address, phone number, date of birth, employer, and insurance information from the client.
On your side of things, that means documenting the type of therapy you provide the client with, what your diagnosis is, and their progress. You need to document each session's length, what your goals are, and what progress is made. This will help you keep track of the patient's history and ensure proper billing. Additionally, you need to document all interactions with a client's insurance company, from whom you spoke with to the reference number for the call.
Learn the Common Procedural Technology Codes
Even if you are not handling the day-to-day practice of billing, it is important to know the Common Procedural Technology (CPT) codes that you pertain to the treatment you use. Knowing the right codes will allow you to use the right medical codes on your documentation, making it easier for the billing company you work with to bill all your clients accurately.
Find a Billing Partner
Billing your clients can be a full-time job, which is why it's ideal to find a billing partner for your therapist practice. You want to work with a company with experience with billing for therapists. They'll follow through and treat your patients with respect if they need to contact them. You will need to do your job and collect accurate information for the billing company to work with.
As a therapist, it is important to find a billing partner that will help take on the manual labor of verifying patients' insurance and working with their insurance to get you paid. You need to treat your patients, and you need to make sure you are bringing in the money necessary to keep your practice going.