Three important things you can be doing to expedite claims processing.
I always encourage all offices to implement and maintain a consistent routine when it comes to their claim process in order to get paid as quickly possible. Most dental practices rely heavily on dental insurance payments as a large portion of their income. Therefore, it’s very important to file insurance claims immediately when treatment has been completed and with the required documentation so the insurance companies can process claims in a timely manner. Here are some tips when it comes to filing claims to help your office get paid faster.
Send claims on a daily basis.
Don’t allow claims to sit in the Office Manager’s Batch Processor until the end of the week. Send claims every day, and for offices that are sending lots of claims, you could even send claims twice a day: at lunchtime and again at the end of the day. The sooner you send claims to the insurance companies, the sooner they can begin processing those claims.
Attach all necessary documentation and include it with claims the first time you send the claim to avoid claim delays.
Dentrix has an automatic attachment feature which searches for required attachments, like X-rays or periodontal charting, and attaches them if able to. And if Dentrix isn’t able to add attachments automatically, you’ll be provided with a warning, reminding you to add the attachments manually.
Generate insurance reports on a weekly basis.
I recommend generating the Insurance Aging Report on a weekly basis. Check the status of the claim and then update the claim status notes. This will remind you, and everyone else in your office, what is happening with each claim. Staying on top of claims every week will help to avoid lengthy delays in receiving payments since you’ll be able to address any problems with claims right away instead of waiting to receive the explanation of benefits from the insurance company.
I also suggest generating the Procedures Not Attached to Insurance Report on a weekly basis. This report will help to catch any procedures that did not have a claim created for them.
The Insurance Claims to Process Report is another insurance report that’s helpful to generate weekly because it will show any claims that were created but weren’t sent.
By sending claims immediately upon the completion of procedures with the required documentation, insurance companies can begin processing those claims right away. This will ensure that your practice receives insurance payments as quickly as possible. Since most dental offices rely on dental insurance payments as a large source of their collections, this is critical for your office’s cashflow. You can generate insurance reports weekly in Dentrix to follow up on the status of claims, and to be sure that claims for all procedures have been sent.
Learn More
For additional information, read the following:
- Tips for Avoiding Claim Rejections
- Reminder: This Claim Needs an Attachment
- Insurance Aging Report
- Procedures Not Attached to Insurance Claims
- Insurance Claims to Process Report
By Charlotte Skaggs
Certified Dentrix Trainer and The Dentrix Office Manager columnist
Charlotte Skaggs is the founder of Vector Dental Consulting LLC, a practice management firm focused on taking offices to the next level. Charlotte co-owned and managed a successful dental practice with her husband for 17 years. She has a unique approach to consulting based on the perspective of a practice owner. Charlotte has been using Dentrix for over 20 years and is a certified Dentrix trainer. Contact Charlotte at vectordentalconsulting@gmail.com.
