Account Management
More than 50 employees manage our clients' billing. This provides exceptional depth for the daily management of billing and accounts receivable. Production is not neglected during vacations, illnesses, etc. Each client's accounts are assigned a specific Accounts Receivable team. These team members assume direct responsibility for all the billing activities related to the patient accounts, accounts receivable and production management. They also serve as the primary contact for the client's patients.

Accounts Receivable Follow Up
We understand that some services do not believe in account resolution or reconciliation after filing the claim with the payer. AR management and follow up is valued as a critical activity in our billing service. Every effort is made to collect all outstanding dollars, and we will commit to providing bad debt reports and account detail to substantiate this claim.

Collections
Our collection philosophy is aggressive and consists of phone calls, budget payments, liens, etc. The office is staffed from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. weekdays, and frequently have staff working weekends. This spread of staffing allows us expanded calling times to patients for collection efforts. Our collection accounts are worked thoroughly before being assigned to an outside agency. The client can set assignment guidelines or accounts can be reviewed before assignment. We use electronic mail return screening tools and automated call collection services that drive patients to your website to facilitate payment.

Customized Reporting
Our Clients benefit from customized management reports that allow them to focus on the business of providing quality radiology services in their markets without devoting the resources to managing the back-end hassles of medical
accounts receivable.

Customer Service
Virtually every department in our billing office contributes to answering incoming calls. In order to do this staff from all departments are trained to review and understand accounts in their entirety giving more depth to their knowledge and billing processes overall. During times of high incoming phone volume, callers may be placed in a hold queue while they wait for the next available representative. While they wait they may hear advertising specific to your group if you choose to have us add this to your line. Our incoming phone lines are accessible for patients from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday. Keeping lines open for eight hours a day is generally longer than what other billing companies will offer.

Charge Entry
All patient information is entered into the computer either manually or via electronic imports within two days of receipt. Facilities are notified of any incomplete information. We have the capability to process real time HL7 feeds and update accounts with current information. Our system performs front end claims scrubbing based on payer specific edits and requirements ensuring accurate billing and the production of "clean claims."

Deposits and Reimbursement
We have found that the most expedient method for managing deposits is through the use of a bank lockbox. However, we also have the capability of receiving payments in-house and processing deposits for the client. Deposits are made and reported daily. The funds are deposited into an account designated by the client. Daily deposit reports are faxed or emailed.

We support electronic funds transfer processes. Many federal payers are now requiring (or strongly suggesting) the use of electronic funds transfer - funds are deposited into the clients' bank accounts several days in advance of receiving the paper payment vouchers. This process is somewhat cumbersome to manage; yet we believe it offers our clients the benefit of timely receipt of revenue. Additionally, we have favorable credit-card processing rates due to our electronic access.

Payments are posted to accounts within 3 days of receipt to ensure a consistent billing cycle. Contractual payments are validated against a customized database to confirm reimbursements meet contract terms, thus preventing inappropriate write-offs from being taken.

Expert Coding
Report coding is outsourced to a service that applies natural language processing to the transcription, which is then double-checked by one of our on-site coders to assure compliance and minimize errors. Our coding staff consists of coding professionals, two who focus solely on the intricacies of interventional coding. We have both CPC and RCCB certified coders on staff. We are committed to accurate coding and documentation and pride ourselves on our communication with radiologists to ensure the documentation supplied is appropriate for the charge submission process. We also are aware of the complexities of radiology coding and are uniquely positioned to point out, to our clients, opportunities to improve reimbursement and avoid lost revenue.

Insurance Claims and Statements

• Insurance claims are generated on a daily basis, either electronically or manually using HCFA forms.
• Claims are submitted routinely to secondary payers as well, in an attempt to collect the funds faster and reduce patient administrative burden.
• Custom letters and tracer letters are part of our automatic billing routine. These letters are payer specific and do not require operator intervention to activate. This ensures prompt follow-up and on-going communication with the patient regarding their accounts.
• Statements are printed every 10 days and run on a 28 day cycle. We provide laser-printed statements with post-net barcodes and post office address verification.

Refunds
Valley Radiologists provides clients with complete supporting documentation for all refunds. Refund checks are controlled and signed by the client. In the case of payer refunds, we encourage payers to recoup overpayments from vouchers rather than issue a refund.

Thorough Charge Capture
Valley Radiologists has control processes in place that virtually guarantee all services rendered will be billed. Billing and coding is generated from radiology reports and matched to electronic day sheets or patient logs via the demographic capture process in place at the hospital or imaging center. Services are tracked by date of service, by date of entry, and by a batch accounting date, which allows extreme flexibility in managing billing operations and optimizing data collection.