Many clinic owners don’t pay quite enough attention to how billing tactics can effect their business overall. It’s one of those scenarios where the phrase “You don’t know what you don’t know” seems appropriate. Let’s take a close look at one billing method that can improve the health of your practice and give you the most visibility and control over billing practices. 
 
In house billing is all about control. Deciding to go with an in house billing solution has a lot do with you as a business owner. If you currently have a hands on approach and want to see each and every detail that goes in or out of your clinic, then in house billing is probably your best option.
 
In house billing means that you have at least one billing employee on your staff that is in charge of submitting all of your claims and seeing them through he collections process. One benefit to this method is that you can select the employee yourself. This gives you the ability to choose someone who is not only a fit at your office, but also is an expert in physical therapy billing. Being able to choose with whom you work and to verify their knowledge level offers a great sense of security for your practice. If you choose an outsourced billing service, you may not in all cases know exactly who is filing the claims for your clinic.
 
The next consideration you need to think about for in house billing is what software to use. Before you start looking at every software out there you should contact your EMR company (if you don’t have one, go here) and see what systems they integrate with. This will not only help you to narrow down your search, but also make sure that you don’t have to do double entry of your information. Some clinics that ignore this important step have to enter in each patient and each charge twice, because they have two systems that do not communicate with each other. Everyone has their reasons, but buying a system that doesn’t communicate with your EMR seems counter-intuitive.
 

All software is different. We are partial to web-based software because you can access it from anywhere. If you are the type of manager we described above, than you can probably appreciate the added benefits of being able to constantly look over your billing operations. You want to ensure you understand the pricing model of your software. Be sure to understand any monthly or annual fees associated with the software licensing. Ask the company how often they update their software, what does an interaction with their support staff look like, and do they have any references for their product in your particular industry.
 
Ultimately, a decision to bring your billing in house has a lot to do with your personal management style. Make sure you ask the tough questions and consider the staffing implications as you move forward. Healthy billing with clean claims can be the deciding factor for clinics that make it and those that don’t. Give yourself an advantage by paying this decision the attention it deserves.