Speed payments by monitoring and correcting slow claims filing. (Practice Management Clinic).

Efficient medical practices keep track of the lag time between service and payment. The chart shown here is an example of a payment-tracking report (figure). In this example, significant delays are apparent between the time medical services were rendered and the time their respective claims were filed. Once the claims were filed, however, the time to payment (posting) was quite good.

Such a trend represents a breakdown in the claimsfiling procedure that must be remedied. If your practice files its own claims in-house, you should have an employee whose primary job is to file claims and post payments. If your practice cannot make this a priority, you might consider outsourcing this important task. Also, filing claims electronically is essential to an efficient billing system.

Dr. Isenberg is an otolaryngologist in private practice in Indianapolis.; [e-mail]