Add a new stream to your earnings

As consultants seek alternative revenue streams, is it time to consider adding medico-legal to the services your practice provides? Simon Brignall from Medical Billing & Collection discusses the billing challenges you will face.

The current economic climate has highlighted why it is important that many businesses have diversified revenue streams. 

This diversification can be accom­plished in many ways and often may be as simple as adding a new practice location with a different patient demographic. For example, adding a central London location will likely increase your exposure to international self-pay and embassy patients.  

Medical Billing and Collection data shows that the amount of private medical-insured invoicing we do for our clients has dropped from 66% to 55% over the past decade. 

The 45% of the invoices we now raise that are not billed to insurance companies include self-pay (see my article last month) and a range of other sectors that have seen an increase in activity such as medico-legal, embassy and work for the NHS.

Medico-legal work

I have received many calls from consultants who are now either considering adding medico-legal work to their practice or they already have and find it challenging. So I will focus on this area and explain what you need to know from a billing perspective.