How medical billing companies can effectively communicate with their practice clients

Managing relationships with medical practices can often feel like a balancing act for billing companies. Incomplete patient demographics, outdated insurance details, and improper coding frequently lead to reworked claims and payment delays. This not only frustrates billing teams but also impacts financial outcomes for practices. However, a proactive communication strategy can pave the way for smoother workflows and faster payments. 

This article breaks down actionable steps to help you improve communication with your clients and create a partnership that drives success.

Before improving communication, pinpoint where your current issues and frustrations lie. For example, 90% of billers in a 2023 survey by Tebra report they always rework claims. These billers cite their clients’ bad habits as the root cause of missing or inaccurate information. 

In Tebra's 2024 Medical Billing Benchmark Report, respondents shared other top points of friction with practices:

Instead of having frustration grow, take these action steps to identify pain points effectively:

Improved communication begins with clarity about problem areas. When your team and clients align on these challenges, the solutions become more achievable.

Without proper documentation, billing efforts often stall. In our 2023 Billing Benchmark Report, 27% of billing companies reported inadequate documentation from practices, leading to slow or denied payments. They also noted the documentation challenges that made it harder to get paid:

With the reality of the challenges above, enforcing documentation with your practices is even more important. Here are strategies you can use to train practices on documentation:

Also, share the following checklist with your practices to teach their front-desk employees how to enter patient data accurately, verify insurance, and avoid common errors.

Strong documentation practices set the foundation for reduced errors and faster payment cycles.

Regular communication with your practices builds trust and ensures smoother operations. Clients should see you as an accessible, proactive partner invested in their success.

Follow these best practices to ensure consistent communication:

Proactively watch for — and address — signs of potential trouble:

Communication tip:

When you run into issues with a practice, frame the problem in a way that conveys that you want to help your client succeed. For example, if you notice that one client consistently forgets to verify insurance, you can say, “We’re running into several instances with incorrect insurance info. As a result, we keep needing to follow up with your team, which is taking more of their time while delaying payments. Let’s do a quick refresher training with your staff to make sure they have everything they need to consistently verify insurance when the patient is standing in front of them.”

Although consistent communication is key, overwhelming practices with frequent emails or scattered questions can lead to delays. Streamline your communication for clarity and actionability.

Tips:

By reducing the noise in your requests, you simplify timely communication and reduce rejected emails.

Avoid unproductive meetings by establishing a structure. A focused agenda ensures your conversations remain solution-oriented. 

Before that meeting, determine: 

Use the answers above to form your agenda, and then share it in advance so clients can prepare. Then, when it's time for the meeting, remember to end each one with clear action items and deadlines.

For example, if you're meeting about missing insurance information, don't spend the meeting just flagging it. Come prepared with solutions that reduce friction and make daily processes easier for your clients, such as proposing a quick training session for front-desk staff.

Billing companies thrive on trust. By shifting your focus from transactional interactions to long-term relationships, you become a valued partner. Here are the steps you can take to learn about each of your practices and strengthen your relationships with them:

This human-centered approach deepens trust, fostering a collaborative environment where practices are more open to advice and improvements.

Effective communication is a 2-way street. Listening carefully to client concerns allows you to uncover and address underlying issues proactively.

Use the Acknowledge, Respond, Ask (ARA) technique to hear your clients, lead the conversation, and solve the issues at hand:

Acknowledge: Use active listening and let the person know you understand their concern before responding.

Respond: Counter with additional information or perspective relevant to their concern, bringing in your expertise.

Ask: Control the conversation by asking a question and pivoting the conversation toward resolving the issue.

Below is an example of how to use this technique to respond to the concern of “My staff doesn’t have the time to fill in all those fields.”

By practicing active listening, you’ll provide support to your clients and uncover insights that make your solutions more impactful.

Instead of closed questions, opt for inquiries that spark discussion. Here are some questions you can ask:

Use this information to tailor your services and anticipate client needs.

Strong communication is the cornerstone of any successful billing-practice partnership. By addressing points of friction, documenting effectively, and fostering relationships built on trust, you’ll unlock new levels of operational efficiency and financial success. Implement the strategies outlined in this guide to turn frustration into collaboration — and watch your billing company thrive.

Ready to take the next step? Visit tebra.com/billing-companies to discover tools and resources to optimize your operations and build better client relationships.