I’m not accepting that fee even though I agreed to it
In terms of medical billing this perhaps is one of the statements I hear from private consultant surgeons more frequently than others. The following example illustrates that despite the...
Try to reduce the occasions you need to speak with an insurance company
Working for consultant surgeons is fun. However, since one particular private medical insurance company decided to outsource their help desk or their "advisors" late last year, there has been a...
Make sure you actually raise an invoice
Alarm bells There a few things I hear that automatically set alarm bells ringing when I look at the invoicing and billing process of a business. "I'll take a look at it next week" "I'll get round to...
Fee Reductions
Two different MHM clients - both consultant surgeons - have been advised by a specific insurance company that the fees for their initial and follow up consultations are being reduced. They are not...
Inappropriate Medical Billing
What on earth is inappropriate medical billing? Couple of examples recently where consultants have tried to base their fees on the best rate available. Take the consultant who realises that Medical...
Leaving the NHS – the cultural difference
One of the most common remarks I hear from my guys is the number of patients they see in the NHS. They have patients queuing up to see them. Such a comment is normally followed by the...
Time is money
I trained a medical secretary in the noble art of medical invoicing recently. Having your medical secretary handling medical invoicing isn't something I'd recommend though for a number of...
Know what you can charge for!
It is depressing the number of times I hear consultant surgeons complaining about insurance companies. In my experience the reasons normally cited are incorrect. Far from it. I've lost track...
What should I do if the patient has no pre-authorisation?
I've been asked this question quite a few times over the years. In by far the majority of cases, your patient should obtain pre-authorisation prior to the initial consultation. But sometimes, the...
Who is responsible for paying the excess or a shortfall?
I'm often asked who is actually responsible for paying an excess or a shortfall. The patient is responsible. Interestingly the question was asked recently by a consultant surgeon who had...
Many of my patients claim they’ve already paid!
This specific issue comes up frequently when MHM is asked to review the outstanding accounts of a private consultant surgeon. There are two reasons normally why the patient believes they have...
The Consultant Surgeon who didn’t have time for the basics – and it cost him.
There are only 24 hours in a day. All of my guys are incredibly busy. I'm amazed at the volume of work they get through in a single day. They are either on-call, doing a ward round or in...