If you accept dental insurance, then part of the process is submitting dental claims. Because this is such a time-intensive process, it is frustrating when a claim is denied just because of a common error. Not only does this take time, but it also costs your practice money.
It’s worth noting that billing errors don’t just impact your bottom line, but they also create frustrations for your customers if they aren’t properly billed and pay for a service they don’t receive. It has been estimated that between 30% and 70% of all dental bills have some type of error. This is a lot to manage when trying to ensure your dental practice is successful.
Missing Information on the Bill
This is one of the most common mistakes that occur. Missing information is frustrating and an easy-to-avoid error.
Another issue is if you put in patient information, that isn’t right. This may be the incorrect spelling of their name, birth date, or even the wrong address. All this can result in the claim being denied because the information submitted is not consistent.
Coding Errors
Another issue that may occur would be errors with how the coding is done. If the wrong code service is submitted with the diagnosis or if there is not enough information given, this can result in the claim being denied.
Other Inconsistencies
This issue is similar to the ones above. If there are any type of inaccuracies, like the wrong Social Security number, then the bill will be rejected. At this point, corrections must be made and resubmitted. This prolongs the process of being paid for the services rendered. For smaller dental practices, this can be quite damaging.
Bundling Errors
Some procedures can be billed and bundled together. When this is done, it will be much more cost-effective for patients. This means that if you unbundle the services that can be bundled together, you have to clarify why you are doing this, or the dental claim may wind up being denied.
Taking Steps to Avoid Dental Billing Errors
As mentioned above, dental billing errors can be extremely frustrating. They can also impact the management of your small dental practice. You and your staff spend time and energy on dental billing, and having to revise and rebill to fix mistakes can be expensive.
Suppose you are spending too much time and focus trying to improve the logistics of your dental billing process and claim submissions. In that case, it means you are also neglecting other aspects of your practice, such as patient care, which is the heart and soul of your business. Now is the time to implement practices that will help you reduce the possibility of errors in your dental billing process. By doing this, you are going to save time and money. In the long run, it will lead to improved customer service and customer satisfaction, as well. Keep this in mind to help ensure you get the desired results and that your dental billing runs as smoothly as possible.
