The curse of the backlogged EOBs

A EOB backlog can be a potentially devastating problem for your practice. 

It seems innocent enough, it's just a stack of paper, right? The claims are already processed, you can just go through and pull out the denials and fix those, right?... RIGHT??? 

I hate to tell you but, no. A backlog of EOBs is much worse than that. Here's why:

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1.) You can not do proper follow-up without the data contained in the EOBs being entered into your billing software. I mean, you can try, but you will waste time and money while staff call on claims that have already been paid or resubmit claims that won't result in payment. 

2.) You, the practice owner, can not tell what is really going on in your billing department when you have an EOB backlog. Your A/R reports are worthless. Claims that are paid, look unpaid in your billing software. Claims that are denied and can be fixed are piled up on someone's desk somewhere. Maybe they'll get followed up on but, in my experience, an office that has an EOB backlog is not organized enough to properly keep track of denials and their corrections. Or they are too understaffed to do so. 

3.) The longer the backlog goes on, the more likely you are to lose money to timely filing deadlines. If your EOBs are backlogged, your follow-up is hindered. If your follow-up is hindered, the more likely it is that you will miss claims that didn't properly go through the first time and, by the time you figure it out, the timely filing deadline has passed. Missing a timely filling deadline is like throwing money away. Or burning it. No one likes to see their hard earned money go up in smoke.

If you have an EOB backlog, it's time to get it under control. Not doing so is costing you money and that's not fun! 

If you have an employee you can dedicate to taking care of the backlog, I highly recommend you do that. Or, if you need help, feel free to give us a call. We can help you figure out the best strategy to get it all caught up and your billing cycle as healthy as it should be!