Caring for patients is a humane and dutiful thing for healthcare practitioners to do, just like it is a good and appreciative thing for patients to pay their medical bills. No matter how passionate a doctor is towards saving lives unless he has a special sponsor, he cannot always render these services for free. This is because, the hospital or clinic needs money in order to keep the lights in the workplace shinning, they need money to pay staff and every other incurred bill.

Billing patients within the hospital can be a serious chore. A lot of healthcare providers use more than one month to successfully collect a medical claim. These practitioners spend a lot of time to appeal denied medical claims as well as code and submit payment to various insurance companies within the country.

The advent of medical billing services and software has made this task quite easy since it makes the tracking of claims very easy, thus saving time. Most practices now outsource the billing of patients either to medical billing services or revenue cycle management (RCM) services.

What is Medical Billing Software?

Medical billing software is a software that automates the processes involved in the generation of invoices and the processing of claims in medical practice. All health care organizations (clinics, hospitals, specialized practice) deals with payments, invoices, insurance claims, and other finances. This aspect of the organization usually requires several trained persons to handle.

With medical billing software, the whole process of creating and sending invoices, as well as the careful processing of insurance claims, can be carried out easily either in-office or to an outsourced company. The software turns the whole process digital thus reducing paperwork involved, time expended on statement creation, verification of insurance coverage, and the processing of such claims as well as the overall manpower involved.

Benefits of Using a Medical Billing Software

The following are the benefits of using  medical billing software in medical practice:

·        It reduces loads of paperwork by automating the process of billing and invoicing.

·        It saves the time which could have been expended on statement creation, verification of insurance coverage, and the processing of insurance claims.

·        It reduces errors involved in the process and also ensures more accurate documentation of dealings.

·        A medical billing software adheres better to ICD-10 coding

·        Medical billing software processes and collects claims more efficiently compared to humans.

·        The cycle of reimbursement offered by medical billing software is more efficient

·        It allows billing to be customized according to specialized needs

Users of Medical Billing Software

Common users of medical billing software include:

• ·        Medical practitioners
• ·        Health care providers
• ·        Front desk staff
• ·        Office managers
• ·        Insurance companies
• ·        Patients who receive invoices
• ·        (Medical) billing service providers

In this article, you will get a review of the 10 best medical billing services for small businesses in the US.

10 Best Medical Billing Software for Small Business

1. AdvancedMD

AdvancedMD comes with a lot of useful features that will take your overall billing process to the next level. It has a cloud suite that favors remote access to patient records. With AdvancedMD, you can accept and schedule new patients online. It supports telehealth, a self-service portal for patients, an option for patient engagement, ePrescribing, and electronic patient health records to allow for remote access.

The software comes with tools for charting and billing which allows teams in the office to work together without communication disruption. AdvancedMD also has a telemedicine protocol that a physician can follow to treat patients who can’t make it to the office. This protocol can also take care of patients with minor complaints thus reducing the number of people at the office.

Price: <$25 / hour

Pros:

·        It helps with denied claims as well as check for coding errors in claims

·        All-inclusive practice management solutions

·        It provides Telemedicine solutions

Cons:

·        AdvancedMD has the disadvantage of not coding claims.

·        It charges extra fees for any emergency support granted after official hours.

2. AthenaCollector

AthenaCollector was founded in 1997 as part of the many services provided by AthenaHealth systems. AthenaCollector allows the automation of medical billing while allowing in-house control to be retained.

Features and services provided by AthenaCollector

·        Telehealth

·        Claims management with a rules engine that is regularly updated to ensure clean claims.

·        Electronic Health Record (EHR)

·        Appointment scheduling

·        A check-in process for collecting a patient’s payments upfront

·        An Integrated eligibility checking for health insurance

·        Generation of performance reports in real-time

·        A dashboard showing revenue cycle, patient data, and other tasks.

Price: <$25 / hour

Pros:

·        It fits in well with in-house billing

·        It’s easy to use

·        Good claim management

·        It has a good customer support

Cons:

·        Fees may be charged for denied claims

·        It might seem too complicated for a single user

·        It uses a fee-based model which may be expensive.

3. CareCloud

CareCloud is designed to provide solutions for any size of practice or company. It provides billing solutions to small practices, large hospitals, medical groups, health organizations, etc. it also offers options for people who specialize in certain fields like ophthalmology, rheumatology, dermatology, podiatry, urology, family practice, etc.

CareCloud has an option called CollectiveIQ which is a set of advanced billing rules in the software. Certain claims that require vetting by humans are flagged by the software using coding technology and other embedded checks system. Chances of making claims errors are drastically reduced by the software since common errors like missing diagnosis, information, and procedure code mismatch are automatically checked for.

There is a choice for complete RCM solutions among other features and benefits like analytics, expert advice, local support, and specialized billing processes

Prices:

·        $349/provider/month for CareCloud Central

·        $629/provider/month for CareCloud Complete

·        3-7% of practice collections for CareCloud Concierge

Pros:

·        Very user-friendly

·        Ease of use via the provision of templates for HER

·        Multiple pricing options

Cons:

·        The startup price may be expensive for a small practice or new clients.

4. Cerner

Cerner as a medical billing software offers a full suite service that includes revenue cycle management solutions. The platform offers practice management tools that assist medical offices and help them to track and schedule patients as well as follow them up to ensure full compliance with treatment or prescribed medication.

Cerner will help you manage claims and handle denials, bill claims, give automatic reviews on claims. Its main features include: Practice management tools, claims billing, case management, denial management.

Price: $25 user / month

Pros:

·        Provision of digital and automated medical works thus reducing paperwork and chances of errors

·        It can handle almost all aspects of medical billing.

·        Good customer support

Cons:

·        It requires a long training process before one can use them efficiently

·        Pricing is higher than average

·        Lagging in some environment.

5. ClaimCare

ClaimCare has a unique feature called Instant Payment Program which allows you to receive revenue from patients that have been attended to almost immediately. The physician receives part of the revenue in his/her bank account while the remaining ones are paid within 30 to 40 days as the claims are being processed and payments made.

ClaimCare also offers a full medical billing service. Its features include:

·        Practice management

·        Claims billing

·        Electronic medical records

·        Instant Payment Program

·        Software solutions

·        Cloud-based dashboards

Price: $200-$300/provider / month

Pros:

·        It is easy to use

·        Instant Payment Program

Cons:

·        No mobile app available

6. CureMD

CureMD provides a medical billing service that is common among other services but with few added features of its own. The software claims to bill for many specialties and also provides a knowledge base that includes several services like submission of electronic and paper claims, review of the fee schedule, recovery of old AR, posting of cash, processing of patient statement, and management reports.

Features of CureMD:

·        Patient portal

·        Medical billing

·        Electronic health records

·        Practice management

·        Revenue cycle management

·        KPI management dashboard

Price: $295 / month

Pros and Cons:

The KPI dashboard makes things easy by giving oversight of activity but there might be a problem with integration.

7. DrChrono

DrChrono is an American digital health technology company providing a software and billing service platform consisting of Web- and cloud-based apps for doctors and patients.

Features and services:

·        Telehealth

·        Medical billing

·        Electronic health records

·        Practice management

·        Revenue cycle management

·        Patient portal

·        Real-time eligibility checks on insurance claims

·        Coding

·        Cloud and internet-based

Price: Custom quote

Pros:

·        Comes with options for customization

·        Automation of claims billing

Cons:

·        It may not be suitable for businesses requiring billing service only.

8. eClinicalWorks

The largest cloud-based EHR software in the U.S. Our EHR, telehealth, and other practice management solutions help you grow and maintain your practice.

Features and services:

·        Telehealth

·        Medical billing

·        Electronic health records

·        Practice management

·        Revenue cycle management

·        Patient portal

·        Patient compliance dashboards

Price:

·        $449/provider/month for EHR Only

·        $599/provider/month for EHR with Practice Management

·        2.9% of practice collections for RCM as a Service

Pros:

·        Comes with Built-in virtual assistant

·        RCM service is affordable

·        Allows integration with other software such as Scribe

Cons:

·        Customer support may not be all U.S.-based

9. Kareo

Kareo software is best adapted for independent practices like small doctor’s offices and clinics.

Kareo offers technology platforms for independent practices such as doctors’ offices or physical therapy clinics. Features and services:

·        Telehealth

·        Medical billing option

·        Electronic health records

·        Practice management

·        Patient collection

·        Patient portal

·        Patient engagement

·        Charge capture

Price: <$25 / hour

Pros:

·        It is designed to be an all-in-one system

·        Good customer support

Cons:

·        Not all features can be customized

·        Grants limited integration option.

10. MTBC PracticePro

PracticePro is a Medical Practice Management System. MTBC provides more than just medical billing services.

Features and services:

·        Telehealth

·        Medical billing option

·        Electronic health records

·        Practice management

·        Patient management

·        Mobile Health

·        Real-time eligibility checks on insurance claims

·        Blockchain interoperability

Price: Custom quote

Pros:

·        It is designed to allow interoperability between blockchain

·        It is easy to use

Cons:

·        Lack of ready availability of pricing

·        Cases of handling of some queries by staffs based overseas.

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Author: Simon RobertEasyInfoBlog is a multi-author blog. We have experts and professionals in various fields who share their ideas and expert knowledge to help you with your daily information needs. Thanks for reading!