Cloud-based computing has shown its usefulness in so many of today’s industries, that it comes as no surprise that the cloud’s reach continues to expand even more every day. The medical profession, specifically in terms of billing, is always trying to find ways to keep costs manageable, and the cloud has turned out to be a valuable tool in this endeavor.
Thanks to watershed events like the passing of the Affordable Care Act (and, thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling, it looks like it’s here to stay!), the medical industry has been in a state of flux. Cloud-based medical billing can help cut waste and improve the overall experience, making those changes a little easier to deal with.
Cloud-based medical building means accuracy and efficiency for all parties concerned
With cloud-based medical billing, all of the hassles of software, data storage, security, and updates are handled off-site. Why is cloud-based medical billing software a good idea? Well …
Advantages Of Cloud-Based Billing
Implementation. With a cloud-based system in place, a practice, regardless of its size, need not concern themselves with hardware and software installations. Practices can focus on what they do best, namely patient care, and leave the tech end to outsourced professionals.
Cost. Thanks to the fact that a practice doesn’t have to spend money on implementation, the billing costs are substantially lower. In fact, cloud-based services are paid for on a monthly basis, much the same as an electricity or water bill.
Scalability. If you have a new practice, odds are that it will grow over time. When it does, the cloud is there for you. One of the cloud’s biggest advantages, regardless of which industry we’re talking about, is its ease of scalability. You can get as much processing power and storage as your practice needs for tracking bills and expenses, at minimal cost or effort.
Updates And Security Aren’t Your Problem. The thing about software is that it constantly changes and gets updated. If your software falls behind on its current version, that could cause some issues. By having the billing software located in the cloud, challenges like keeping the software current and updated, as well as matters of security, are handled by the people who do this sort of thing for a living.
Examples Of Cloud-Based Medical Billing
Outpatient care providers need to submit claims to insurance companies, Medicaid, and Medicare via electronic means. By having a strong cloud-based billing system in place, this particular requirement is easily met.
More often than not, specialists see patients who pay directly via check, cash, or credit cards. The flexibility of a cloud-based medical billing system makes these forms of payment easy to handle and keep track of.
Finally, a cloud-based billing system brings claim-scrubbing technology to a practice of any size. Claim-scrubbing is a process wherein claims are checked for errors in real-time, thereby expediting payment from insurance companies. Someone going in for a routine checkup, for example, may be charged a co-pay when in fact the entire cost of the checkup is covered by insurance (something which happens more often due to the ACA). That’s the sort of error that can get flagged by claim-scrubbing, thereby making sure that not only is the patient not inconvenienced by paying for something they don’t have to, but also the full cost of the procedure gets billed correctly the first time, and that means the claim gets turned over faster.
The cloud isn’t the only thing making things easier for the medical profession. There are countless apps out there that aid doctors in maintaining their practices. The more that today’s technological innovation are embraced by industries like health care, the more cost-efficient and effective the provided services will be.