Patient billing requires patient account statements that must be accurate in every detail, from the name of the patient to the figures for charges and payments. When you are posting charges to a patient account, take care to be accurate in entering the data the first time. If an error is posted on a transaction, you will need to reverse the transaction and start over again with a correct entry. Consider the following scenario: Jolene, the billing person at Bonita Medical Clinic, is responsible for all patient billing and bookkeeping. She has fallen behind on her daily posting and is having trouble catching up. Her totals are not balancing for accounts receivable, and she is frustrated.
When should posting be done? In what order should the entries be placed? What could be the possible outcomes of sloppy bookkeeping practices? What can you do in the role of the medical assistant to ensure that your entries are made in a timely fashion and correct the first time round?