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Healthcare organizations need a medical billing partner that can handle their claims with ease and provide full visibility into the process in real time. They also need access to software that is scalable enough to meet their needs with straightforward functionality.
AdvancedMD is the best medical billing service that includes access to a robust healthcare IT suite, including an electronic medical record (EMR) system and medical practice management software with powerful, easy-to-use tools and total transparency into outsourced billing. For these reasons, AdvancedMD is our choice for the best medical billing service for practices that are concerned about ease of use.
We chose AdvancedMD as the best medical billing service for ease of use because the platform is clear and straightforward. The navigation is color coded, and the workflow is logical and intuitive, which makes the software easy to use for revenue cycle management (RCM) and other tasks. There are extensive code libraries for reference, and all claims are handled by the vendor’s internal back-end team, which organizes your records in prioritized work lists that give you visibility throughout the entire claim submission process.
The platform also provides near-certain first-pass acceptance by payers because it leverages the same claim scrubber used by its preferred clearinghouse partner, Optum. This means any issues that would be flagged by Optum’s system are captured by AdvancedMD before submission, thereby increasing the likelihood that claims make it through to payers and are accepted the first time they’re submitted.
Most other medical billing services maintain a rules engine, but not all are so closely linked to the clearinghouse that will process the claims. Syncing the claim scrubber with Optum improves the odds that claims submitted through AdvancedMD are accepted by the clearinghouse and gives AdvancedMD an appealing advantage in usability and efficiency.
AdvancedMD’s team automatically takes care of rejected and unpaid claims, helping you recoup more of what you’re owed and get paid faster. AdvancedMD’s RCM service comes bundled with its EMR and practice management software, so you can get an all-in-one suite that serves virtually all aspects of your office operations.
Usability is exactly why AdvancedMD stands out for both medical billing and medical software. We love that the color-coded navigation gives users visual cues for each section of the platform. The workflow is uncomplicated and, once you’re trained on the software, quite logical. The user-friendly features add to AdvancedMD’s flexibility.
Like most systems, the more you customize it, the steeper the learning curve. But it’s easy to get up to speed on AdvancedMD’s intuitive functionality thanks to the available hands-on training, webinars and self-guided educational tools. You’ll grow to love the software’s shortcuts and “doughnut” filters, which make medical processing and other operations much more efficient.
AdvancedMD offers a robust set of features that cover nearly every need healthcare organizations have in a medical billing service — with the notable exception of in-house medical coding.
Because AdvancedMD doesn’t offer medical coding services, only software, your practice must code all claims before sending them through the system, at which point AdvancedMD’s Claims Inspector software will scrub your claims and submit them to insurers. It checks every claim you file for more than 3.5 million possible issues.
That rigorous scrubbing process and the team’s dedication to accuracy partly explain why AdvancedMD can guarantee you — in writing — an almost 100 percent first-pass claims rate. That means the likelihood your claim is denied is much lower than with other companies, and you’ll almost certainly get compensated faster than you would with competitors.
In the rare event your claim is denied, the issue should be resolved quickly; the certified billers have previously turned around these claims within 14 days. AdvancedMD also has followed up on outstanding payments within 40 days from the date the claim was filed or from when the patient statement was sent.
When AdvancedMD receives electronic remittance advice (ERA) — the explanation of why payers denied or underpaid a claim — the service stores it in the easy-to-access eRemittance Review tool. From there, you can quickly see exactly where a claim went wrong or why the reimbursement came up short. What’s more, AdvancedMD will revise the claim as necessary and keep submitting it until it is accepted and paid. The vendor is also committed to following up on outstanding balances, as noted above.
AdvancedMD serves more than 65,000 practitioners across 14,000+ practices and 900+ medical billing companies. Its clients range from small, independent practices to large, multidepartment providers. The company processes 9.5 million insurance claims a month and is one of the most scalable services we found in our investigation of medical billing services. This is a flexible vendor that can work with smaller practices but also excels at revenue cycle management for large practices. In other words, as your organization grows, the AdvancedMD platform can scale with you.
AdvancedMD’s medical billing service comes with its EMR system and practice management software as one package. However, you have two options for ensuring this medical software suite is best suited for your practice:
AdvancedMD charges practices a percentage of their total collections — typically ranging from approximately 4 to 8 percent, depending on factors such as size, specialty and intricacies of the billing process. In contrast, some rivals charge as high as 9 percent of collections. There are also fees for certain add-on features.
Practices must commit to at least a one-year contract. However, that’s better than most medical billing services, which often require contract terms of at least two years.
There are multiple implementation packages you can choose from when you get started with AdvancedMD. The company offers webinars and self-guided training materials for tech-savvy teams, but those who want hands-on training to get up to speed quickly should consider one of the higher-tier implementation plans.
If you prefer to have a private training session that is customized for your organization, you can have up to nine attendees participate for a total of $10,000.
AdvancedMD’s customer support via phone and email is available free of charge from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. There’s also a live chat where you can contact a support representative any time you experience a problem with the software — something that sets AdvancedMD’s customer service apart from competitors we reviewed.
AdvancedMD also maintains a self-service customer portal called Hub, where users can access support resources, engage with the AdvancedMD product community, submit feedback, propose new features, and connect with peers about practice management and workflow challenges. All customer support is handled in-house and provided on an ongoing basis after your practice completes the implementation process and training.
Our own customer service experience with AdvancedMD, which included a discovery call and a demonstration of the healthcare IT platform, was exceptional. After we connected with a representative for the demonstration, we requested follow-up information about the healthcare IT platform and medical billing service, which we promptly received.
AdvancedMD’s costs run slightly higher than many competitors’, and several features that could reasonably be bundled into a base package are instead offered as paid add-ons. Before signing on, make sure you have a clear picture of exactly what’s included in your plan — and what will cost extra. For a low-cost alternative, see our review of DrChrono, which offers medical billing services with lower upfront expenses.
Furthermore, because AdvancedMD requires practices to do their own medical coding, you need to have a staffer in-house to code all of your claims before submitting them. That’s both time-consuming and an additional expense for your organization. DrChrono, on the other hand, handles coding for you.
Our team spent considerable time researching and analyzing medical billing services, including AdvancedMD’s offerings. That process involved software demonstrations, phone interviews and hands-on customer service evaluations. We also reviewed user feedback and examined ratings on the Better Business Bureau website. In assessing ease of use, we focused on key criteria including platform navigation, claim scrubbing tools and the usability of the healthcare IT platform. Based on those factors, we identified AdvancedMD as the top choice for healthcare organizations that prioritize ease of use.
We recommend AdvancedMD’s medical billing service for …
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