Medical billing is a highly specialized area that is always in discussion across the healthcare sector. Its importance and complex nature are acknowledged by anybody who has had to deal with it at any point of their life. In the same way, billing for services rendered by Skilled Nursing Facilities, or SNF billing in short, is a complex affair to say the least, requiring a highly specialized and organized approach.
In view of the above, medical billing companies such as Sunknowledge Services Inc., have taken some extremely useful initiatives to make this billing process as easy and effortless as possible for healthcare facilities and healthcare professionals who selflessly work day and night in varying shifts so that their patients can get well soon!
Before delving further, let’s start by getting familiar with the rudiments of skilled nursing facilities. This information might be known to some already, but it’s still a good place to start.
How Skilled Nursing Facility Works
Skilled nursing facilities are basically in-patient rehabilitation centers staffed with efficient and skilled healthcare professionals such as skilled nurses, certified nursing assistants (CNA), Licensed Practical Nurse, occupational and physical therapists, audiologists and speech pathologists.
These facilities provide round-the-clock guidance and assistance to patients who are in need of medical attention on an immediate basis. Initially a patient receives a health check-up to evaluate mental health, physical health or ongoing medications. Once a patient gets discharged from a hospital after recovering from an illness, injury or surgery, the immediate step is to get admitted to a Skilled Nursing Facility (or a Nursing Home or a Long-Term Care Facility, as it may be called) so that any kind of lingering illness can be treated. Skilled Nursing Facilities are temporary stay for patients to get continued care from expert healthcare professionals and nurses.
Nursing Homes provide a range of services and benefits to the patient which is hard to find elsewhere. These advantages often remain overlooked but are, in fact, quite imperative for consummate treatment and complete convalescence. These include:
- Specialized Therapies
- Lowers risk of re-hospitalizations
- 24/7 medical care
- Personalized nursing assistance / care
Skilled Nursing Facility vs. Nursing Home (differences)
I am sure that everyone reading this will agree that a medical condition can arise in anybody’s life at any point of time, and can reveal more than just one underlying health problem. These situations often occur with senior people, who might have recovered from a serious illness but still require to get admitted to a short term rehabilitation center for continued health support and treatment.
The most essential difference between a Nursing Home and Skilled Nursing Facility is the type of admittance patients get. A Nursing Home, in usual terms, is more like a permanent residence for patients who require 24/7 care. However, a Skilled Nursing Facility is better suited for patients who require medically rehabilitation treatments and a shorter span of stay.
Why Skilled Nursing Facilities Require Medical Billing Support?
Medical billing companies can assist Skilled Nursing Facilities to keep their services going without any hiccups in their billing operations. They are especially valuable in preventing medical documentation errors, in reducing claim denials and in maintaining a healthy revenue-generation process. They also help in receiving timely payments from insurance providers without interruption, and make your administrative staff free to concentrate on the more important aspects of their work.
Skilled Nursing Facilities billing service providers have expert billers and medical coders who ensure that healthcare facilities and professionals are compensated for the services provided to the patients in a smooth and efficient manner. This helps in maximizing reimbursements and lowering delayed or denied payments from insurance companies.
