There is an absolute difference in billing between healthcare and other industries, and most medical billers will tell you there are significant differences in the processing of medical claims across different specialties and facility types.
In medical billing, there are two different types of billing—professional billing and institutional billing.
A medical office handles the administrative tasks for a medical practice, including greeting patients, scheduling appointments, check-in and registration, collecting money, and a number of other tasks including medical billing.
Professional billing is responsible for the billing of claims generated for work performed by physicians, suppliers, and other non-institutional providers for both outpatient and inpatient services.
Forms Used
Professional charges are billed on a CMS-1500 form. The CMS-1500 is the red-ink-on-white-paper standard claim form used by physicians and suppliers for claim billing.
While some claims are currently billed on paper, Medicare, Medicaid, and most other insurance companies accept electronic claims as the primary billing method. The electronic version of the CMS-1500 is called the 837-P, the P standing for the professional format.
Duties in This Setting
Professional medical billers often have different job duties than institutional medical billers. Professional medical billers are often required to know both billing and coding.
Most medical billing training programs offer medical billing and coding together. The majority of these training programs tend to teach more coding than billing.
Forms Used
Institutional charges are billed on a UB-04. The UB-04 is the red ink on white paper standard claim form used by institutional providers for claim billing. The electronic version of the UB-04 is called the 837-I, the I standing for the institutional format.
Duties in This Setting
Institutional billers sometimes have different tasks than professional billers. Institutional billers are mostly likely only responsible for billing or perform both billing and collections.
In order to submit medical claims efficiently, medical billers need to know or have access to lots of information for each insurance company. Medical billing staff has access to private, confidential patient health information and must know how to avoid violating HIPAA privacy and security rules. Familiarity with the billing software being used will save time, minimize errors, and prevent headaches. Take advantage of the training software providers offer and, if necessary, contact them when issues arise. Understanding coordination of benefit information means knowing how to bill claims in the correct order to prevent a delay in payment. Each part of a medical claim represents the information that is collected from the time the patient schedules an appointment until the patient receives services.
