Medical billing means submitting a patient's diagnoses and treatments on a claim form to the insurance payer for reimbursement of services. With technology, many of the medical billing functions are now performed more easily and efficiently.

Patient Account Verfication

Billing technology facilitates automatic patient account verification. This means that a system can automatically verify a patient's insurance and check the deductible and co-pay information.

Code Assignment

Coding assigns numeric and alphanumeric codes to a patient's diagnoses and treatments. Codes are input onto the claim form for billing. Billing technology integrates with coding functions so that the health care workers gain assistance in assigning the proper codes.

Billing and Reimbursement

With technological advancements, billing claims can now be sent to insurance payers online over the Internet. This provides for faster reimbursement of the claim, sometimes happening within a few days of online claim submission.

Accounting

Billing technology integrates accounting functions so that a patient's previous past-due amounts are automatically displayed when the patient is treated again. Additionally, technology allows for auto-reconciliation of accounts payable and receivable.

Correspondence

The ability to automatically generate correspondence is a major advantage of billing technology. This allows the health care provider to create patient letters and other correspondence at regular intervals.

Source:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Medicare Claims

Ambanet.net: American Medical Billing Association

"Understanding Health Insurance: A Guide to Professional Billing (6th Edition);" JoAnn C. Rowell, Michelle A. Green; 2001.