Hi Angela and welcome to the forum... :hat

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1. What are people doing with their accounts when on vacation (sole business owners)


When first starting out, prior to hiring employees, my family became accustomed to taking long weekends as vacations. We would usually leave on a Thursday evening and return on a Sunday evening. I would let my clients know that I would not be available on Friday.

After hiring staff, we began to take normal 1 - 2 week vacations.

Some of the Santiago Billing Centers work together with regard to vacations and will handle each others accounts if an extended vacation is needed and there is no staff to handle the work.


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2. How is a patient demographics report and all other reports given to the biller if billing is done remotely and how often is the biller updating the information


This will depend on your preferences and what you and your client have agreed to... but myself and I believe the majority of billing centers prefer to receive their data in weekly priority mail envelopes. I filed my claims (paper & electronic) on a weekly basis.

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3. Does the biller receive the super bill or encounter form from the doctor and transfer them onto HFCA forms


Yes... this is done using a practice management/billing software. The data received (demographic, insurance, procedures, diagnosis) are entered into the software and processed into either electronic or paper claims.

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4. My interest is mental health - are HCFA forms used and if not, what is used in its place


If it's outpatient services, it's reported on a HCFA 1500 form.. yes.

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5. do most software allow the biller to do both paper and electronic claims


This really depends on the software and how the manufacturer or reseller sells it. Some softwares are limited and only allow paper claims. Some come standard with paper claim processing but an additional module must be purchased in order to transmit electronically. Some softwares available do not even save any of the data (no data/practice management) and require you to enter information over and over again. As a billing center owner you will want to make sure that your software provides you with the capabilities you need.

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6. What are the advantage of being able to assign each procedure on a claim with multiple procedures its own uniques claim number


This makes posting your payments to claims much easier especially when the carrier refers to your claim number on the explanation of benefits (EOB).

Enjoy Chapter 2!

Tammy
MB Course 1