According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Healthcare sector will add 2.6 million new jobs between 2020 and 2030, making it the fastest-growing career sector in the US. Many of the new employees will be doctors and nurses, but the majority of new hires will be in medical support positions, such as medical assistants, health aides, and medical billing specialists.
Medical billing specialists use technology to update medical records so healthcare professionals can obtain payment for services rendered. They work closely with medical coding specialists who assign standard codes for each diagnosis and medical procedure and enter them into a patient’s health record.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 83% of adults and 94% of children in the US visited a doctor or other health professional during 2020. If we assume there were six pieces of patient information per visit–a low estimate, over 8 billion individual items had to be coded and billed during 2020. So, it is no surprise that demand is increasing for medical billing employees.
These are some best practices you should follow to identify and hire the best-qualified medical billing specialists for your healthcare organization.
Automate Your Hiring Process
A report from the Hackett Group found that HR departments that adopt technologies such as automation and intelligent data capture can cut costs by 17% and decrease staff hours by 26%. The report also showed that organizations that already use these technologies operate at a 20% lower cost with 31% fewer employees.
You may think that adopting new technology would be difficult and time-consuming. However, implementing an industry-leading solution such as the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM is easy; HR teams generally have it up and running within a day.
Use Medical Billing Skills Assessments to Screen Applicants
Medical billing specialists create patient bills by interpreting medical codes, create and process medical claims, issue Explanations of Benefits to patients, and follow up with patients regarding unpaid balances. This means they must understand medical terminology and HIPAA regulations well and be familiar with Medicare and Medicaid processes.
With eSkill’s medical billing skills test, your hiring team can objectively evaluate candidates’ potential for success, even if they do not understand all aspects of the job or the skills required to do the job. When you post a medical billing job, all you need to do is set up a medical billing skills assessment that will be automatically sent to all applicants. When applicants complete the test and submit their results, they will appear on your dashboard so you can review and compare their scores.
Medical Billing Skills Tests as Predictors of Candidate Success
The eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM simplifies evaluating medical billing professionals’ skill sets by enabling you to use the pre-prepared medical billing skills assessment or build a customized skills test.
The off-the-shelf Medical Billing Skills Test allows you to evaluate candidates’ ability to work with patient payments, communicate with insurance companies and patients, and computer hardware and software proficiency. It also covers several subject areas, including medical terminology and coding, customer service, accounting and bookkeeping principles, collections, legal and ethical concepts, and digital literacy.
Medical billers work closely with medical coders who translate patients’ diagnoses and treatments into alphanumeric codes and enter the correct sequences into patients’ electronic health records (EHR). The off-the-shelf Medical Coding Skills Test covers anatomy and physiology, general coding guidelines, medical terminology, legal aspects of insurance, and HIPAA.
If you were hiring medical billers but wanted to ensure they understood medical coding, medical terminology, and HIPAA, you could create a custom test by selecting questions from the Medical Billing and Medical Coding Skills Tests and add questions from the Medical Terminology and HIPAA-Health Insurance Coverage Skills Tests.
The eSkill Assessment Library includes other skills tests such as Customer Service in Healthcare, ICD – 10 Medical Terminology, HIPAA – Privacy and Security Standards, and Medicare. You can choose questions from these and include them in customized medical billing skills tests.
Why Medical Billing Skills Tests From eSkill?
eSkill’s medical billing skills tests help organizations make better hiring decisions. This leads to increased employee retention and productivity. eSkill’s expert staff is always available to help you meet your hiring goals by helping you and your team choose or build medical billing skills assessments that perfectly match all your job roles.
You can also rest assured that the assessments you administer are legally defensible. Since its inception in 2003, eSkill has a perfect record of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission compliance with skills tests that are reliable and valid indicators of candidates’ potential performance.
Interested in Medical Billing Skills Assessments?
Staying ahead of the evolving talent acquisition landscape is easy when you adopt the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM to streamline your hiring process. With 24/7 customer support available to you and your test-takers, adding automated skills testing to your hiring process is simple.
Do you want to learn how eSkill’s medical billing skills tests can help you find and hire the best medical billing specialists? Contact us to request a demo.