Practice Management Alert

Our billing expert offers the key to peace of mind over lockbox use

If you've never used a lockbox before, you may worry the service won't really uphold your practice's HIPAA compliance standards, increase payment-posting efficiency, or reduce payment risks. Most of those worries, however, are entirely unfounded.

"I am a big believer in using a lockbox," says Terri Fischer, CPC, CMC, manager with LarsonAllen Health Care Group in St. Louis. Here Fischer tackles the biggest concerns regarding lockbox use - and tells you why there's no time to lose in setting up one of your own.

Concern: HIPAA liability
 
Reality: You don't need to worry about Personal Health Information (PHI) disclosures because the bank that houses your lockbox will sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA), which will cover your practice for HIPAA liability, Fischer says.

Concern: Payment-posting efficiency

Reality: A lockbox will make your funds immediately available because the bank will deposit all patient and insurance payments directly into your account, and then send all correspondence (EOBs, patient letters, etc.) to your billing office. Compare this with the usual delay in access to funds when you deposit the old-fashioned way, Fischer says.

You can have correspondence delivered as quickly as you want (regular mail, courier, daily pick-up, etc.) so you can get straight to work on balancing accounts, appealing underpayments and more. The time you save opening the mail should allow more time for other office tasks, she says.

Concern: Logistics

Reality: With a lockbox, you will normally have access to the bank account via the Internet, Fischer says. So you log in each morning and view all new lockbox deposits. Then you prepare a log of incoming cash, she says. 

Preparing the log and checking daily correspondence will allow you to know whether you've received all necessary paperwork and payment on a claim - and then you can post payments according to deposit date on your practice management system, she says.

Concern: Risk reduction

Reality: When payments go directly to a lockbox, you greatly reduce the risk of fraud and embezzlement in your practice because office employees don't have the opportunity to tamper with the numbers. Smaller practices often think they don't need a lockbox, but these practices are usually at greater risk of losing money to untrustworthy employees and looser cash controls, Fischer says.

Bottom line: Using a lockbox does cost money, but the service more than pays for itself when you consider the benefits - and the amount you would normally pay staff to pen payment envelopes and write up deposits, Fischer says.