Question: Arizona Subscriber Answer: Verify as soon as possible. You really have four options for when your practice will perform the eligibility check: Best bet: That's why experts recommend that you verify benefits and eligibility before the patient even walks through the door. Therefore, you can be sure the services will be covered and you can check for any other coverage issues, such as whether any special procedures can be done in your office or if you need to send the patient to other practices (for example, ultrasound in an obstetrics practice). You can figure out the patient's copay and/or deductible that you should be collecting when the patient comes in as well. The problem with waiting until the patient is in your office to check her benefits or waiting until after the physician performs the service, is that you may find the patient really doesn't have the coverage she thinks she has and that the services your physician is rendering are not covered for your office. That's when your denials rate will start to rise.