Working with a dental billing service is a great tool for most dental practices. It can eliminate the strain that comes with dealing with insurance companies and streamline the billing process. However, working with an outsourced billing company isn’t always a good fit for every dental practice.
Working with a dental billing company requires your team to be open to change, prioritize communication and welcome the option to improve revenue and lower costs with remote helpers.
As the dentist, you might be thinking, “these are all awesome things, I’m a great fit.” Well, your team might not agree. At Dental ClaimSupport, we’ve worked with offices and team members who were not so willing to be open, communicative and often felt territorial over insurance billing. So, offices like this might not be a good fit.
As the dentist or business owner - truly you are the one who makes the call, and your administrative team has to get on board.
However, if you communicate how outsourcing is going to bring in more money without insurance headaches and not take over every aspect of their work, and they still push back: you might not be a good fit for one another.
In this article, you will learn 5 signs that your dental practice is not a good fit for an outsourced dental billing company. Knowing this information can help you analyze your options ahead of time, and meet any challenges you want to overcome.
Here are the 5 signs you are not a good fit for a dental billing company.
1. Your systems are not up to date
Let’s start with logistics. Your systems need to be up to date to work with a dental billing company. This means you use current dental software, and your actual computer software is updated regularly.
A dental billing service helps you by working, within your dental software remotely. If your dental software is not up to date and logging us out every five minutes, we can’t do our job which means you’re not collecting money from insurance companies.
Your systems need to be secure to be HIPAA compliant
Dental offices that have been around for a while may continue to operate with outdated software. We’ve seen this more than you’d believe. We know it’s a pain to make these kinds of changes, but a more updated software can help your practice work more efficiently.
Newer dental practice programs have work-saving features and automation that can make your life easier, and your job more efficient.
Not to mention, as software programs age you may be missing security updates needed for HIPAA compliance. So really, even if you don’t sign on with a billing company, it’s important to use current dental practice software for your own security anyway.
2. Your team is unwilling to work with a remote dental billing company
It can seem silly to mention this, because theoretically, the dentist or business owner is in charge of this decision, and the admin team would accordingly get on board.
However, we’ve seen time and time again - office managers and admin team members that refuse to buy into the idea that using a dental billing service empowers everyone’s success.
Remote billers aren’t there to manage your team members
It’s a common misconception that a dental billing company is going to take control of the billing at the dental practice. This is when team members become territorial and skeptical. It’s not true though.
Outsourced dental billers are an extension of your team that handle the insurance side of billing so that your team can focus on patient billing, scheduling, and everything else that makes your office successful (which is a lot!).
However, if your team is dragging their feet to get on board with the dental billing company, they’re going to make it impossible for billers to do their job successfully. It’s a group effort, and the billers need to work alongside your team members to get your claims paid.
3. Communication is not a priority to your dental team
Working with an outsourced billing company does, in fact, require frequent communication. Not every single day necessarily, but if a biller has a question on a claim and is trying to get it paid for your office, someone needs to be available to answer those questions.
Your dental office is still going to be responsible for insurance verification and patient billing. Without those activities, low revenue will still plague your dental practice! Regularly communicating with one another about expectations, denied claims, or questions about the patient’s information is crucial for you and the company to do your jobs well.
Your revenue depends on it.
Outsourcing your insurance billing is impossible without communication skills
Communication is an important component of working with a dental billing company, especially when you are first onboarding with them. You have to set a precedent for effective communication. Learning how to work with each other right from the beginning, going through orientation, and getting the dental billing service computer up and running will lay the foundation for a successful relationship.
Communication is key. If members of your team are unwilling to make this a priority and work with the dental billing company as a team that is on your side, the relationship is not going to work.
4. You’re looking for a quick fix
For most dental practices, insurance billing drives a massive portion of your revenue. So if you only need outsourced billing services for a short amount of time, you’re going to need a plan to handle the claims workload just as efficiently. Otherwise, starting the relationship with the dental billing company is going to be a pointless exercise for you.
Let me explain what I mean by this.
Insurance billing requires expertise, time, and attention to detail. It isn’t a role that can be temporarily filled, then pass on (to someone with less experience) once numbers begin to climb.
Once the billing service stops your revenue will too unless you have someone with the equivalent experience and skill who can handle the workload that comes with insurance billing.
If you don’t do this, your collections numbers will go back right to where they were before you outsourced.
If you don’t want to work with a dental billing company long-term, you need to let them know
If you do just need some help with your insurance billing temporarily until you find someone in-house, you need to let your billing company know. They deserve to know your expectations going into this working relationship, and vice-versa. You should know their expectations as well.
If both you and the dental billing service are transparent about what you want, you give yourselves the best chance to find whether you’re a good fit for each other.
5. The decision-maker (dentist or business owner) does not want to be involved in feedback from the remote billing expert
There are two types of dentists we see as an outsourced dental billing service: the dentist who is all-in, who wants to know what’s happening with the billing process and get regular updates, and the opposite.
The hands-off dentist wants to stay out of the relationship between the office and the dental billing company as much as possible.
The person who has the most stake in the revenue of the practice should be involved with the dental billing company
Obviously, the dentist or business owner is not going to get down in the weeds of the billing process. That’s why an administrative team exists, so the dentist can focus on patient care.
For a relationship with a dental billing company to work, the decision-maker needs to be involved and aware of how the billing system is doing. You need to know if your collection rate is worth the cost - whether you’re paying an employee or a service.
Think outsourcing your dental billing could be right for you?
You may understand these 5 signs you aren’t a good fit for a dental billing company and feel like you still want to bring on a dental billing service.
You should! But if you recognize one or more of these signs in your practice, this is your opportunity for change that will allow you to work more successfully with the dental billing company.
An outsourced insurance billing service is a powerful tool for optimizing your revenue if you and your dental team recognize the chance to collect more money and spend less on the hardest part of running a dental practice.
Dental ClaimSupport is a billing company that is willing to work with all kinds of offices and let you know what you need to do to be successful with us, or whoever you choose.
To learn more about qualifying to work with a dental billing company, check out our article, “Does my office qualify for outsourced dental billing?”
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