Chiropractic Biller Leaving? Here’s Your Back-Up Plan

Let’s say that your chiropractic office is bustling with activity, your patients are happy, and your practice is running like a well-oiled machine. And then, BAM! You’re notified that your biller – the one who has been there for years and knows everything about your in-house billing system – is leaving. Now what?

ACOM Health has worked with hundreds of chiropractors across the United States with in-house billing processes, and when we ask them if they’re prepared should an unexpected change in staff occur, their responses are usually:

• No, I don’t have a back-up plan.
• What would my options be?

A change of staff at some point in time is inevitable. Losing the person that serves as an office manager or biller can cost valuable time and money, and set your practice back by weeks or months, if not longer. Following are the most common reasons why your office manager or biller might leave or be repurposed.

Why Office Managers/Billers Leave

While there are a number of reasons why key staff members leave chiropractic practices, the most common are:

• A spouse’s job requires relocation
• A new job opportunity
• Health reasons, such as illness or injury
• Retirement

In cases such as retirement, you might be able to build in a reasonable amount of transition time in hopes of training a new biller and transferring responsibilities without significant disruption. But most of the time, departures are unexpected, and your practice will suffer.

Why Office Managers/Billers Are Repurposed

Sometimes you might need to transition a staff member from billing to other office responsibilities. The most likely reasons are because they:

• Have minimal experience managing insurance billing processes.
• Are overwhelmed with performing multiple duties within the clinic.
• Don’t have enough time to focus on both patient care and billing management.
• Are writing off unpaid or underpaid claims (instead of fighting for them).
• Are not producing higher returns, despite an increase in patients and services.
• Are unable to communicate by phone due to capabilities or language barriers.

Medical records should be well-documented to properly reflect all clinically relevant aspects of the patient’s health, and serve as an effective communication tool.

Therefore, the sooner you document your patients visit, the more accurate and detailed your notes will be.

What’s Your Back-Up Plan?

Regardless of the reason, if you find yourself without an office manager or biller – and you don’t have a solid back-up plan in place – it can wreak havoc on your practice.

ACOM Health has worked with hundreds of chiropractors who have been in this situation, and we can guide you with the best steps to take for optimum preparedness. Contact us now for a quick 10-minute consultation with one of our chiropractic billing experts, and we will help you create a back-up plan for these types of “what if” situations.