Today, however, health insurance companies process more than three billion medical claims per year in the United States. All of these claims are made possible by medical billing technology. Take a closer look at how the emerging tech trends are shaping the future of medical billing.
- Health insurance companies process over 3 billion medical claims annually
- Medical billing has grown more complex year after year due to the heightened use of insurance and health services among patients
- Modern technology trends like EHRs, blockchain medical coding, computer-assisted coding, and telehealth are making an impact on medical billing in the future
- Using a third-party medical billing platform offers several benefits to providers and medical billing processes
The Complexities of Medical Billing Software in the Modern Healthcare Landscape
People spend more money today tending to their health than ever before. According to the Vanguard Medical Group, the average adult visits their doctor about four times a year. If a serious illness arises, that individual may visit a care provider of some type a dozen or more times for everything from diagnostic procedures to treatment and rehabilitation. Most of these patients use insurance to cover some of the costs. This leads to a profound number of medical claims annually.
With so many people focused on their health, medical coding has grown exceptionally intricate. Unique codes must be assigned to every procedure and interaction. Medical billing software has continued to evolve to accommodate the complexity of coding for the industry. For example, software has become more intuitive and streamlined to negate coding errors before they are submitted to a payer and face the risk of denial. Nevertheless, there is much room for improvement, and the latest technologies are making those improvements possible.
Emerging technology affords an exceptionally valuable opportunity for a more intuitive, efficient, and advanced medical billing system to come to life. Take a look at some of the technology trends and how they will have a future impact on the medical billing platform.
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Top Modern Trends of Medical Billing Technology
1.Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
EHRs have grown to be the gold standard for documenting patient specifics and instances of care. The intuitive software streamlines the medical billing process by automatically handling a number of tasks that organization staff once had to input manually. Record-keeping is a more efficient process overall, and medical billers have a single source of information to access to use when filing a medical claim.
EHRs have been shown to support patients and providers, but could also benefit the medical billing process in a number of ways, such as:
- Creating a more accurate, timely patient record
- Enabling coordinated access to patient information
- Improving record completion rates and legibility
- Reducing the risk of duplicated interactions
2.Computer-Assisted Coding (CAC) and other AI
Computer-assisted coding (CAC) is an innovative type of artificial intelligence in use in the medical billing arena. Initially, there were concerns that CAC would result in high numbers of billing errors or be too time-consuming to use. However, CAC is exceptionally intelligent and has proven to be a valuable tool in medical billing software.
Those using CAC have reported positive outcomes. As many as 65 percent reported improved billing quality and 68 percent reported higher productivity. Other forms of AI are also being put to use productively in medical billing solutions, such as task automation and identifying potential errors.
3.Medical Billing Adapts to Telehealth
Telehealth is not a new technology but has been rapidly embraced by the medical industry. In 2022, 70 percent of physicians stated that they were motivated to use telehealth more in the coming years, and 85 percent stated telehealth enhanced the timely delivery of care. Additionally, innovative technology is making telehealth a far more integral part of modern medicine.
With the use of EHRs tracking patient interactions even through telehealth appointments, billing for these interactions is becoming easier to navigate. Additionally, CAC has learned how to automatically assign unique codes to remote instances of care.
4.Blockchain Medical Billing
Blockchain medical billing introduces a decentralized system where each transaction or claim is recorded as a block on the blockchain. These blocks are linked chronologically, creating an unchangeable and tamper-proof chain of transactions. Each participant in the network has access to a copy of the blockchain, which ensures both code-process transparency and accountability.
Benefits of Using a Medical Billing Platform
In addition to the modern technology trends, many care providers are transitioning to the use of a third-party medical billing software. Doing so creates a number of noteworthy advantages because the medical billing system a provider dedicates all of their time to managing medical billing and ensuring all the latest technologies are in use. Other benefits of using a medical billing solutions include:
- Medical billing platforms are more likely to use the latest, most efficient medical billing software
- Medical billing claims denials due to overlooked errors are reduced
- Reduced operational costs for the provider
- Reduced administrative burden for the practice
- Patient data is kept more secure
- Expedited collections processes
- Revenue cycle management becomes an easier process
The Future of Medical Claims Billing Is Bound to Be Different
Enlist the Best Partners to Help
Medical billing software strives to help medical organizations increase revenue, focus on better patient care, and reduce overhead costs with the best solutions. A Medical Billing Platform that fully integrates with your EMR is revolutionary.
