Dentaltown January 2018 - 86

Learn more about medical billing on
Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran
Dr. Olya Zahrebelny discusses her top 10 list of dental procedures
that often are covered by medical plans. To watch the video or stream
the audio, visit dentaltown.com/podcasts and search "805."

What do I need to do to prepare
myself? Give me the lowdown
on the approach to take!
1. Attending a comprehensive medical
billing course is essential. You
cannot learn medical billing from the
internet or just by reading a book.
Trial and error will not get you paid.
2. Arm yourself with the necessary
reference materials that explain
the process, the different insurance
carriers and how easy or difficult it is
to access benefits; that have templates
for the necessary documentation
required; and that have dozens of
claim examples for you to follow.
3. Get properly credentialed with CAQH,
NPPES and NPI. Medical insurers rely
on these entities to verify your status,
so they're critical to medical billing
and payment because the information
they provide determines your
legitimacy. A reputable company that
teaches medical billing will be able to
assist you in this (or will do it for you
at a nominal fee).
4. Sign up with a clearinghouse that
correctly and accurately verifies,
"sweeps" and submits medical
claims by dentists, and has years of
experience doing so successfully. Ask
around, check its track record; rely
on the recommendation of dentists
who are already successfully billing
their procedures to medical plans.
Medical claims must be submitted
electronically.

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JANUARY 2018 // dentaltown.com

5. Download and subscribe to software
that accurately completes medical
claims. In my experience, no dental
practice management software
accurately does this.
6. Take advantage of follow-up
support to the courses. Check
the credentials of the support staff
and consultants-ask about their
years of experience; ask for proof of
steady and continued success and
outstanding results. Yes, that matters.
They should not just teach it, they
should still be doing it!

Conclusion
I'm not going to lie: Medical billing is
not for every dental office. There is a steep
learning curve. However, every office can
learn to bill the simplest of procedures-
exams, consultations, radiographs, TMJ
and OSA appliances, procedures that do not
require precertification-even if it doesn't
try for the bigger (surgical) ones.
And no, you don't have to be a participating provider with a medical plan
to get paid by one. It just requires you to
learn what's actually necessary in terms
of documentation, to tweak your existing
reporting protocols, and to put basic systems
into place to set yourself up for medical
billing success. And, yes, having (or hiring)
the right person for the job of medical biller
is of paramount importance also. Are you
ready to tackle this in your practice? You
can, if it makes sense and your practice is
up to the challenge. ■
http://www.dentaltown.com/blog/post/7801/805-medical-billing-solutions-with-dr-olya-zahrebelny-dentistry-uncensored-with-howard-farran-podcast http://www.dentaltown.com/podcasts http://www.dentaltown.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown January 2018
