All medical facilities collect demographic details from patients, which are used for various purposes, including analytics. When it comes to claims submission and reimbursement from payors, the correctness and completeness of the demographic entry of patients assume importance. Patient demographics entry is the basis of a claim.

Inaccurate demographics entry results in claim denials and delayed payments. Studies show that healthcare organizations lose about 7% of their annual collections on account of errors in demographic entry. The process of demographic entry should be a streamlined one with checks inbuilt to eliminate mistakes at the initial stages of the revenue cycle. Investing time in capturing accurate patient demographics is crucial to successful revenue cycle management.

What kind of patient data is to be captured?

Patient demographic data will contain the following elements.

• Name, Contact number, Address and Email id

• Social Security number

• Date of Birth and Gender

• Blood group

• Allergies, if any

• Medical History/Major Diagnosis

• Medicaid or Medicare cards in case the patient is receiving federal aid

• Current insurance company and details of insurance policy

• Contact details of the person responsible for the payments

These and any other details/information are initially collected through a form filled in by the patient and entered into the practice management software. All demographic data must be verified for correctness.

Why is it crucial to capture accurate patient demographic data?

• Demographics entry may appear to be non-important front office work. Its importance will be realized when claims are denied because of a single incorrect demographic entry.

• Mistakes as simple as one less letter in a name or one more number in numerical data can result in the rejection of claims. Even extra characters like dashes can result in denial by the payor’s system.

• It is crucial to have updated patient information. Whether it be a new patient or an existing patient, the data collected should be current. Updating information is vital.

How will Bristol Healthcare assist you?

The team at Bristol Healthcare Services will ensure the accurate capture of data by checking other records and speaking with patients directly. Every care is taken to prepare clean claims, including a thorough internal audit so that your reimbursement is quick.

As part of our continuing staff education, our certified coders and billers are trained in various software. They can easily handle the software that our clients use and no integration issues arise. The billing team will process the patient demographics and other data within 12-24 hours of its receipt. Ours is one of the fastest turnaround times in the industry.

Bristol Healthcare Services is a HIPAA-compliant medical billing company and your data is safe with us. There are systems and processes in place to safeguard data and physical assets.

We will take care of your front-office and back-office tasks so that you can relax and take care of your patients.

Talk to an expert today!