Practice Management Alert

You can have the most efficient billing team on the planet, but if they can't bill for physicians'services, your A/R will go through the roof. One problem growing practices commonly encounter is that physicians aren't credentialed quickly enough, reports Sarah Mountford, A/R coordinator for Physicians Business Network in Overland Park, Ks. To head this problem off at the pass, practices should follow Farrell's billing cue and get a jump-start early on. If at all possible, start filling out the required forms a couple of months before a new physician starts working at the practice, Mountford suggests. That way you won't have to wait so long for the doctor to get a number after she starts work, which means you won't have to hold off on sending her claims for as long.