In many situations, the best thing a doctor can do is to see patients instead of running the daily operations of a practice. The doctor is the income generator for a practice. First, make sure you bill for everything. For example, hospital consults evaluation and management visits, and surgeries all need to be reported to the practice so they can be billed. Doctors should bring back written notes or use a recorder to note and keep track of all services provided at the hospital.
Employees can help by reviewing operative notes dictated by the doctor after the surgery.
When these notes are received by the practice, it is important to check the patient's billing record to make sure a bill was submitted for all of the services provided, Migliore says. Doctors put their employees in a position to pay for themselves many times over when this teamwork occurs. Most practice billing systems can produce a coding frequency report that will hint at possible coding improvements. Be sure, however, that you document the services provided and bill accordingly. But, practices should look for opportunities to see more patients.