Enhancing Dental Billing Efficiency During Crisis
How Technology Became the Solution for a DSO
Crises often precipitate transformative change. The healthcare industry, shaken by the global pandemic, faced unprecedented challenges, leading to closures for many companies. Dental practices and Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) found themselves in a precarious situation, striving to balance patient care with sustaining their business. Cambridge Children’s Dentistry (CCD) grappled with financial and operational obstacles due to the pandemic. In response, CCD sought a technological solution to streamline their billing processes. They explored the potential of Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) software and engaged a trusted partner to navigate these turbulent times.
COVID-19 Challenges Faced by Cambridge Children’s Dentistry
The imperative for safety during a global health crisis is evident, particularly for professions that involve frequent patient interactions. To ensure safety, many practices had to limit patient capacity, reducing revenue from insurance claims. Maximizing incoming revenue became critical, demanding meticulous attention in dealing with patients and insurance matters. In the healthcare domain, managing insurance billing is complex and involves several manual steps before a claim submission, a scenario replicated in dental insurance billing. Prior to adopting Weyobe, the office staff at Cambridge Children’s Dentistry handled exhaustive billing tasks alongside their daily responsibilities:
Challenges
Verifying patient insurance coverage
Assessing Insurance Benefits
Confirming completed procedures
Assessing Insurance Benefits
Confirming completed procedures
Discovering a solution, and a partner
Despite the pandemic’s challenges, Cambridge Children’s Dentistry managed to retain its employees and maintain competitive compensation standards. With a commitment to focusing staff efforts on patient care rather than administrative burdens, and witnessing an aging and growing accounts receivable, the group sought an RCM platform. This move aimed to alleviate billing concerns, enabling the team to enhance patient care and satisfaction. After internal discussions and a review of billing metrics, they opted to engage Weyobe. Weyobe provides clinics an RCM platform utilizing advanced technology such as robotic process automation and machine learning, aimed to ease the burden of insurance billing for dental office staff.
Initially apprehensive about adopting the automated systems that Weyobe offered, Semira Avanessian, from Cambridge Children’s Dentistry, quickly discovered that using Weyobe’s services was a sound investment for the entire company.
“Engaging Weyobe was like hiring a really good billing professional. It took so many things off my office staff’s plate. It relieved them from tedious accounts receivable discussions. Instead of tasking the team with the responsibility of resolving a $20,000 account, Weyobe managed it, allowing my office staff to concentrate on the patient experience within our four walls.”
Semira Avanessian
General Manager, CCD
Post Implementation Feedback
The introduction of Weyobe surprisingly improved staff morale. Though slightly concerned with such a huge change in office operations, the Office Manager at one of the BPDG clinics was beaming on Weyobe’s first day as the software promptly began processing claims.
She remarked, “In the initial weeks, it became apparent that the process was effective, and it brought a substantial improvement over how we used to do things. We started seeing accounts from a year ago coming in week-by-week as the backlog started to get cleared by Weyobe. With Weyobe in place, Cambridge Children’s Dentistry shifted from dedicating three hours of staff time to communicate with insurance providers to relying on Weyobe. The platform established direct communication with providers, resolving outstanding claims or issues.”
Beyond automating claims submissions, Weyobe’s technology provided transparency at the claim level and tailored data recommendations to optimize insurance claim reimbursements. Semira aptly referred to the latter feature as ‘The Yellow Brick Road of Getting Paid.’ Since partnering with Weyobe, they successfully cleared the backlog of insurance claims at Cambridge Children’s Dentistry while staying current with receivables. Weyobe significantly boosted morale and enhanced critical financial metrics across various offices:
Reduced average time to collect payment on aging accounts receivable from 91 days to 30 days.
Recovered 13% of annual revenue from uncollected insurance payments overdue for more than 90 days.
Improved database accuracy of collected revenue not entered into a payment management system by an average of 23% across Weyobe-utilizing offices
For Semira, this transition meant less time consumed by financial preparations and billing monitoring, allowing him to focus on strategic aspects of the business. He remarked, “Instead of dealing with billing, I’m now involved in expanding our marketing efforts, employee management, and visiting our offices. HR responsibilities have grown and Weyobe has tremendously freed up time for these critical areas.”
Cambridge Children’s Dentistry’s experience during COVID prompted a reevaluation of their practices. Instead of letting substantial revenue slip away due to inefficient billing, they partnered with Weyobe, leveraging smart technology to refine and streamline their processes. As they anticipate a rise in patient volume, they stand prepared, backed by their trusted RCM partner, Weyobe.”
Get a customized assessment for your business
© 2024 Weyobe.
All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Sitemap
© 2024 Weyobe.
All Rights Reserved.