Sky Insurance

If you have ever received a medical bill and had no idea what you were being charged for, chances are that your doctor has outsourced the medical billing and coding to a data entry service that generated the document. Today data entry services are responsible for the majority of medical bills produced. Only the smallest clinics and private doctor's offices do their own billing. The reason for this is that insurance claims have become so complicated that it takes a degree in medical billing and coding to be able to properly file for reimbursements. Most clinics outsource their billing in order to process claims more quickly and ensure accuracy in submitting claims.

Suppose you feel stiffness and pain in the joint between your thumb and hand. You go to the doctor, who recommends that you have the joint x-rayed. The x-ray shows a buildup of calcium, the beginnings of arthritis. The doctor refers you to a hand specialist, who explains that a shot of cortisone will lessen the pain and retard the growth of bony material, so you agree to have the shot. When you receive your bill for what you consider to be a single visit to the doctor's office, there are multiple charges. The doctor or nurse has recorded each stage of your visit, either in longhand on a report sheet or into a dictation device. Either way, the report is recorded in digitized form. If dictated, the report goes to a medical transcriptionist, who will enter the information into a computer while listening to the tape. Medical transcription is another of the data entry services usually outsourced by clinics and hospitals. The medical biller then assigns each procedure its appropriate alphanumeric code. This code determines how much should be charged and whether an insurance company will cover the cost.

For the clinic or hospital, there are several advantages to outsourcing their medical billing and coding to data entry services. Generally, the bills get processed more quickly, there is less chance of entering the wrong codes and either under pricing a procedure or missing a charge altogether, and the medical biller is usually abreast of changes in the coding system and insurance claims. While some data entry services explain the procedures on the bill, others simply list the codes. If you have the latter, you will need to contact the billing company to get an explanation of the charges.