In this episode, we break down the 10 essential questions every medical practice should ask before choosing a billing software. With 80% of medical bills containing errors and 71% of providers still relying on manual, paper-heavy workflows, choosing the right system isn’t just important—it’s mission-critical.

We explore why modern billing software must be intuitive for staff, fully integrated with your EHR, and designed to support digital-first patient payments. They dig into what patients really want (online payments, text reminders, and mobile-friendly billing) and show how automation—from payment follow-ups to pre-visit billing—directly reduces A/R days.

You’ll also hear how features like built-in patient financing, integrated collections, and PreBill tools help practices get paid faster without adding staff. The hosts highlight the importance of transparent pricing, top-tier security standards, and reliable, knowledgeable customer support that understands real-world healthcare billing challenges.

If you’re evaluating billing systems or planning to upgrade soon, this fast, practical guide will help you choose software that improves staff efficiency, boosts collections, and creates a smoother financial experience for your patients.

Transcript

Narrator: 00:00

Welcome to the Billing Blueprint Podcast, your go to resource for innovative medical billing solutions. Each episode we explore the latest industry trends and share proven strategies to help your practice streamline operations and get paid faster. Now here are your hosts, Brad and Sarah.

 Brad: 00:20

 Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today we're really getting into something critical for any medical practice. Choosing the right billing software. We've sifted through a lot of analysis, you know, operational reviews, to pull out the 10 essential questions you absolutely need to ask before you sign on the dotted line.

Sarah: 00:37

 And it's urgent stuff. Billing isn't just admin anymore. I mean, with patients paying more out of pocket, getting billing right is, well, fundamental to your revenue cycle. The numbers are pretty stark, actually. Our sources, they show a massive 80% of medical bills have errors.

Brad: 00:53

 80%? Wow, that's. That's gotta cause delays and frankly, annoy patients.

Sarah: 00:59

 Oh, absolutely. And then there's the tech adoption issue. Get this. 71% of providers still heavily reliant on paper manual processes. But here's the real kicker, the disconnect. 75% of consumers, your patients want to pay medical bills online. If you don't offer that, you're basically choosing to get paid slower.

Brad: 01:16

 Okay, so our goal here is pretty clear. Get straight to the point. Give you those 10 key questions for a billing system that's, you know, transparent, effective, and actually helps the bottom line. So let's start inside the practice with the staff.

Sarah: 01:29

 Makes sense. Question one is all about them. Is it easy for my staff to use every day? Because if it's not, you're in trouble from day one.

Brad: 01:37

 Right. We hear administrative burden thrown around a lot. How much time are we actually talking about here? Does complex software really add up?

Sarah: 01:44

 It's kind of shocking. Sources point to healthcare workers already spending up to 28 hours a week just on admin tasks. Now layer complicated billing software. On top of that, those hours climb, errors spike, and honestly, morale just tanks.

Brad: 01:58

 So it's less about jamming in features and more about intuitive design. Making it feel natural.

Sarah: 02:04

 Exactly. You need dashboards, workflows that, you know, make sense, that match how your staff actually does things. Here's a good tip. We found a sort of red flag. During demos, if a vendor needs more than an hour just to show you the basic functions run, that screams complexity. Oh, and look for vendors who offer ongoing training, like weekly sessions or monthly webinars. That shows commitment.

Brad: 02:26

 That's a really practical benchmark.

Sarah: 02:28

 Yeah, good one. Okay. Sticking with workflow, a huge headache is getting new software to play nice with what you already Have. Which brings us straight to question two. Will it integrate?

Brad: 02:38

 Yeah, this one's huge. Non negotiable. Really? Ehr, emr, Electronic Health record, Electronic medical Record. If these systems don't talk to each other, you get data silos. Staff end up entering the same info twice, maybe inventing clunky workarounds. It's just messy and wastes time.

Sarah: 02:53

 So how deep does this integration need to go? Is just sharing patient names and addresses enough? Uh, definitely not. You need full bidirectional integration. Charges need to flow smoothly from the EHR to billing. Sure. But critically, payments need to post back automatically, updating the patient's record in real time. Look for proof. Ask them. A solid platform should connect widely. We saw examples integrating with like over a hundred different practice management systems. Ask how updates are synced.

Sarah: 03:19

 Ask how updates are synced.

Brad: 03:20

 Okay, that makes sense. Seamless flow keeps the back office running. Right? So we've thought about the staff. Now let's flip to the patient side. Because convenience there often means faster payments. Right? So question 3. How will patients pay? And how many options do they have?

Sarah: 03:35

 This is where things have really shifted. You know, patients aren't just mailing checks anymore, not like they used to. The data is clear. A 243% jump in people using a statements between 2016 and just recently 2024. And remember that other stat, 62% of consumers prefer paying deals online.

Brad: 03:52

 So if they want digital, you got to provide digital. Sounds like we're looking for omni channel options. Lots of ways to Pay.

Sarah: 03:58

 Precisely. Think 24/7 online portals, websites that work great on phones, text to pay options, automated payment plans, all that. And flexibility is key too. Can it work with your existing merchant account? Does it take credit, debit, Ach, you know, direct bank transfers, Apple Pay, Google pay. Even checks for those who still use them.

Brad: 04:19

 Right. And if speed is the name of the game, we need efficient follow up too. That leads to question 4. Can I automate reminders and follow ups?

Sarah: 04:28

 Oh yeah. Making manual reminder calls is just such a time sink for staff. Inefficient. What you want is smart automation. Personalized messages. Maybe based on how people respond. Structured follow ups, like reminders going out 7, 14, 21 days after the first bill via text and email.

Brad: 04:43

 And the best way to reach people for that. I'm betting it's not email these days.

Sarah: 04:46

 Not primarily. No. Texts are incredibly effective. We're talking a 98% open rate. That's huge. And the system needs to be smart, right? If someone pays on day 15, they shouldn't get the day 21 reminder. That's just annoying.

Brad: 04:57

 Yeah, keeps things professional. Okay, now sometimes the hurdle isn't wanting to pay, it's being able to pay, especially with higher costs. So question 5. Does it support patient financing?

Sarah: 05:11

 This is a big one. It helps attract patients and keep them. If someone's facing a big bill, they might just put it off unless you offer an easy way to finance it right there in the system. Staff shouldn't have to become loan experts spending hours explaining options.

Brad: 05:26

 So what does easy, easy and integrated look like here?

Sarah: 05:28

 It needs to be quick, like under a minute to apply. Ideally, no hard credit checks when more people actually use it. But here's the crucial part for the practice's cash flow, the payout. Look for high approval rates. We saw benchmarks around 90%. And this is key. The system should pay the practice in full, like the next business day after approval.

Brad: 05:46

 Wow. Okay, so the practice gets paid right away. Risk gone, capital improved. Nice. Let's shift into the core financial stuff. Revenue cycle management. Question six. How does it help me reduce AR days?

Sarah: 05:58

 Arkansas Accounts receivable days.

Brad: 06:01

 Yeah, that's the real pulse. Check on billing efficiency. To shrink that number, you need to shift collection. Move it earlier. Don't wait until weeks after the service. Try to get payment before the visit or right at the point of service.

Sarah: 06:13

 How does the software help with that?

Brad: 06:14

 Well, features like pre visit billing, sometimes called PreBill. It uses secure APA compliant links sent by text or email. They click the link, go to a secure site, maybe something like paywoot.com and often can pay in just like three steps. It changes the whole feel, doesn't it? No. Bill shock later. Deal with it when the service is fresh in their mind.

Sarah: 06:35

 Yeah, definitely changes the psychology. Okay, building on efficiency. Question 7. Will it improve my collections without adding staff? Because let's be honest, traditional collection agencies can be a bit of a black box. Maybe not always. Great control, right?

Brad: 06:50

 Integrated collections is really the way to go. Now. It needs to work within your billing workflow. The practice decides which accounts go when they go. The software should handle a lot of the automated communication, freeing up your team. What about the actual collection specialists?

Sarah: 07:04

 If it gets to that point, you need professionals, obviously. And think about language barriers. We saw Systems where 75% of the specialists were bilingual. That's important. Plus a big difference from old school agencies. The money should go directly into the practice's bank account. No waiting, no huge commission cuts taken.

Brad: 07:20

 First, instant access, that direct deposit, that transparency, that's huge. Okay, before we hit security, let's tackle the Big one, the cost. Question nine, what will it cost me and what's the ROI? Because sometimes pricing is just murky. Hidden fees everywhere.

Sarah: 07:38

 Yeah, you have to push for transparency here. Ask for clear, predictable, all in one monthly pricing. Ideally no long-term contracts locking you in. If you feel like you're playing detective trying to find transaction fees or setup costs, that's usually a bad sign.

Brad: 07:52

 But it's an investment, right? So what's the payoff? What kind of return can a practice realistically expect from good billing software?

Sarah: 07:58

 The return can be really significant. We're talking potentially boosting collections performance, practices seeing increases of up to 60% in some cases. And that's on top of cutting down all that admin time we discussed earlier. So when you factor that in, the monthly fee starts looking like a smart investment, not just another expense, a 60% increase.

Brad: 08:18

 Yeah, that changes things. But okay, all these gains, financial inefficiency, they're worthless if the system isn't secure. We need to talk risk. Is it HIPPA compliant and secure?

Sarah: 08:29

 Absolutely. Critical. And compliance can't be an afterthought. Something staff just has to remember it needs to be baked into the system's workflow. The vendor needs to be PCI compliant for payments. That's table stakes. And of course high pay compliant for all that sensitive patient data.

Brad: 08:45

 What specific security standards should practices be looking for? Like, technically speaking.

Sarah: 08:49

 Okay, so you want things like 128bit SSL encryption for data when it's moving. Secure data centers, role-based permissions, meaning people only see what they need to see. And this is crucial. Sensitive info, billing details, personally identifiable information, pii. It should never just sit exposed in a plain email or text. Never. The system has to use secure links, QR codes, things that take the patient to a protected environment.

Brad: 09:14

 Security has to be designed in, not bolted.

Sarah: 09:17

 Got it. All right, Last question number 10. And it's one people sometimes forget until they desperately need it. How strong is the customer support?

Brad: 09:25

 Yeah, often overlooked until something breaks. And when a billing system goes down, it impacts patient care, it impacts revenue, like immediately. Support needs to be more than just, oh, let me log a ticket for that bug.

Sarah: 09:35

 So what makes support good in this specific healthcare context? You need reps who get both the software and the healthcare billing side of things. They need to understand what a denied claim actually means. For the practice's finances, for instance. Instance, look for US based live support if possible. And honestly, how responsive and helpful they are during the sales process. That's often a pretty good predictor of the support you'll get later.

Brad: 09:58

 Okay. Wow. We've gone from, you know, piles of paper and frustrating calls to a potential future of seamless, secure, automated revenue. It's quite a journey.

Sarah: 10:10

 It really is a transformation. Good billing software isn't just about processing claims anymore. It's about making things easier for staff, making it faster for patients to pay digitally. And, yeah, slashing that administrative overhead. It strengthens the whole financial core of the practice.

Brad: 10:24

 So here's something to think about. We talked about staff potentially clawing back almost 28 hours a week from admin tasks with the right system, what if. What if they could take all those saved hours and put them purely into direct patient care? Or maybe focus on launching new services that actually generate revenue? That's the real ROI to aim for, isn't it?

Narrator: 10:46

Thanks for tuning into the Billing Blueprint podcast. For more insights or to dive deeper dive deeper into today's topics. Head over to billflash.com. Don't forget to subscribe and we'll catch you next week with more strategies to keep your practice running smoothly and getting paid faster

Sources:

Top 10 Questions Medical Practices Should Ask When Choosing Billing Software