If you are a healthcare provider looking for ways to improve the efficiency of your practice here are some facts about electronic claims you should keep in mind.
What Is an Electronic Claim?
Before we delve into the details of electronic claims, let’s take a closer look at some basic definitions.
An electronic claim is a claim made with the aid of computer software and transmitted electronically to a health insurer through the internet or (now less commonly) a telephone line.
The opposite of an electronic claim is a manual claim, which can be defined as a claim printed on paper and sent to the payer by traditional mail.
The American Medical Association Encourages Use of Electronic Claims
The American Medical Association (or AMA, for short) is a professional association with over 200,000 members that also publishes and maintains the Current Procedural Technology (CPT) code set, which constitutes the basic language for coding medical services.
The AMA encourages the use of electronic claims over manual claims citing the following benefits:
- Reduces the time practices devote to administrative functions.
- Allows practices to pre-audit claims for errors.
- Submission occurs almost instantly.
- Limit postal expenses.
- Makes it easy to track a claim’s progress.
- Accelerates a payer’s claim processing turnaround.
- Improves the accounts receivable of a practice.
In Some Cases, Electronic Claims Can Help You Save Nearly 60%
According to the AMA, electronic savings result in substantial savings compared to manual claims.
The document linked above cites the case of a solo physician practice that spent $70,000 a year processing manual claims in 2006. After transitioning to electronic claims submission, the annual cost was dramatically reduced to less than $28,000.
While the AMA explains that not all practices may be able to obtain such spectacular savings, the case highlights the
The Average Cost of Processing an Electronic Claim is $2.90 (vs. $6.63 for Paper Claims)
To further illustrate the convenience of electronic claims, consider the cost of processing an electronic claim compared to the amount of money necessary to complete a paper claim.
The average cost of processing a “clean” electronic claim is $2.90 as opposed to $6.63 for paper claims.
The case for the efficiency of electronic claims when it comes to cost, time, and work couldn’t be clearer.
Electronic Claim Processing Can Reduce Error Rates to Less Than 1% or 2%
In addition to being lightning fast, electronic claims can also be extremely precise. With electronic claim processing, practices can reduce error rates to less to 1% or 2% (source).
Simply put, electronic claims helps healthcare professionals get paid faster and spend less money processing claims.
With a more efficient claim processing system in place, your practice can devote more time to patient care. And by investing the money you save thanks to electronic claims, you can offer even more services, taking your practice — and your revenue — to the next level.
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