Of all the industries, the health sector has been notoriously slow in embracing digital technologies, particularly in the management and billing branches.
The October 2022 edition of the National Hospital Flash Report of Kaufman Hall entails that 2022 was the worst financial year for hospitals because of a sharp decrease in revenue. Though stabilizing, hospitals continue to face financial challenges.
In an attempt to boost revenue while delivering quality patient care, healthcare companies are expanding beyond the four walls of the clinic and automating workflows.
Besides that, the medical billing space has undergone a drastic transformation, with more and more people turning digital. Such digital shifts in medical billing and coding have created both obstacles and opportunities but prevailed because of the numerous benefits it offers.
With that said, we’ll let out top trends that are all set to dominate the medical billing space in the upcoming years.
What Medical Billing is Anticipated to Look Like in the Upcoming Year 2023
With new updates rolled out almost every day and technological advancements being introduced, predicting the future of medical billing and coding is quite a challenge. However, it isn’t impossible. Keep reading to find out what is around the bend and how the medical sector will evolve.
1. Behavioral Health Billing Software Will Revolutionize the Healthcare Industry
Experts predict that behavioral health billing software will take the healthcare industry by storm, and for a good reason.
Integrating medical billing software into the day-to-day practice will reduce the workload of healthcare practitioners, improve workflow, and reduce errors in medical coding while providing rapid access to patient records.
By leveraging technology, quite a few behavioral health billing software like Psyquel have simplified medical billing tasks through systematic processes. Features offered by Psyquel, like filing insurance claims and credit card processing, contribute to a rich user experience.
What’s more, this HIPAA-compliant software allows healthcare practitioners to scan and save records in the patient portal, schedule appointments and manage records from anywhere in the world. Because many practitioners have found it easy to use, it has received 4.4 stars on third-party sites.
2. An Increasing Emphasis on ICD-11
Rumor has it that ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision), the most popular classification system, will be replaced by ICD-11. That means ICD-11 is set to become the worldwide standard for disease classification this year, 2023.
Soon enough, healthcare providers will shift to ICD-11, which is more comprehensive than its ICD-10. And because it contains additional categories like lifestyle choices, cancer survivorship, and digital health, healthcare practitioners will have to be informed about them.
3. A Greater Emphasis on Virtual Medical Care
An uptick in virtual medical care shall be observed by medical billers and coders in 2023.
Virtual medical care, also known as telemedicine, is the practice of providing care to patients in a remote setting, meaning the patient and the healthcare provider aren’t present physically. That means virtual medical care is here to stay.
The concept of virtual medical care will be mirrored in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) billers and coders rely on to accomplish their tasks. Even ICD-11 entails new codes for virtual medical care services, so coders and billers will have to acquaint themselves with the said codes in the coming times.
4. Introduction of Blockchain
Advanced billing software isn’t the only uptick billers and coders shall see; even blockchain technology could be on the horizon. Although widely used to manage cryptocurrencies like bitcoins, it is now being used outside cryptocurrency.
Developers have tried leveraging it in medical coding and billing, and surprisingly, it worked very well.
Slightly more capable than a decentralized ledger, blockchain records all types of transactions. And since there isn’t much difference between a series of EHRs and a financial ledger, a blockchain ledger can be embodied in EHR with ease.
Integrating blockchain technology makes the system secure and accurate mainly because blockchain records are unchangeable.
Why is it Necessary to Keep Up With the Changing Times?
As medical technology is advancing at a rapid rate, keeping up with the latest trends is important to ensure patients receive quality care. That said, here are two eye-opening statistics that will help you understand why it’s necessary to keep up with the changing trends:
1. Around 87% of consumers are interested in making payments online, as revealed by the Trends in Healthcare Payments Twelfth Annual Report of InstaMed.
2. The medical billing industry is anticipated to reach USD eight billion, i.e., 9.25%, by 2026.
Takeaway
So, that’s about medical billing trends expected to revamp the healthcare industry in the upcoming year by 2023.
Clearly, the demand for medical billing and coding is expected to skyrocket in the next five to ten years. As a mental health practitioner, you must design strategies to improve payment plans to boost revenue.
Before anything else, make sure to invest in reliable medical billing software so that you can streamline your payment process and boost productivity.
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