Inpatient Facility Coding & Compliance Alert

Follow these expert tips to keep your patients happy while ensuring your facility gets paid. Many patients are leery of identity theft – especially where their medical care is concerned – so they’re wary of sharing their social security number (SSN). Even if your admissions and billing staffs understand the patient’s position, not having a SSN on file could mean you’ll have trouble billing the patient’s insurance. Make the most of the situation by reading our experts’ advice on when to collect the SSN – and when to steer clear of the issue. 1. Consider Collecting SSN Only When Necessary   Experts suggest that individual physicians and facilities should not collect SSNs unless absolutely necessary. Some insurance companies still require SSNs for billing purposes (for example, some still use SSNs as patient ID numbers). But if the patient’s insurance does not require the information on your claims, you should protect [...]