10 Considerations for Selecting a Medical Lockbox Provider

Working with a financial institution for healthcare payment processing via a medical lockbox is an excellent method to eliminate inefficient in-house manual processes for healthcare providers. Providers can typically reduce overhead, improve collections in receivables, decrease bad debt and write-offs, reduce fraud, and eliminate paper in the office. While the benefits can be impressive, selecting the right vendor can often be a confusing task.

Not all Medical Lockbox Providers are Created Equal

While the basic concept of a lockbox does commoditize the service at its most basic function, a medical lockbox service via a financial institution can easily differentiate themselves via these ten important concepts:

1. Are the checks and explanation of benefits (EOB) returned to the provider via paper, copied or provided via an online electronic archive?
2. Are you given access to an electronic record of claims and payments with the ability to audit and reconcile the two?
3. What options are available for denials management? Does the financial institution private label “denials” to the provider?
4. Does the service provide error reporting to the service line?
5. What is the expected turnaround time for each claim?
6. Is the service HIPAA compliant?
7. Does the financial institution provide a temporary solution which enables the provider to scan EOB’s and upload them while the P.O. Box transition is in process?
8. Does the bank offer interest on the funds in your lockbox account?
9. Is the solution Cloud-based?
10. What fees are standard for the lockbox service and which are additional expenses?

Understanding the options available is an important first step to selecting a vendor that best fits your practice’s needs. If you need additional help in determining which vendor is best, ask for references and further demonstrations. Selecting a new vendor takes time, but in the end, a thorough examination of all available options will help to maximize value from your medical lockbox provider.

Source: http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/07/28/bica0728.htm