Appointment length does not match billing metric provides practices insights to appointments that were billed an Item 23 or Item 36 where the recorded visit length does not align with the MBS item billed.
The Appointment length does not match billing metric can be found within the Clinic Optimisation > Billing Optimisation. The metrics included in this tile are:
- Appointment length does not match billing by Practitioner
- Appointment length does not match billing
- Item 23: appointment length vs item billed
- Item 36: appointment length vs item billed
- Trend of appointment length does not match billing
TOP TIP! Many of our customers use this metric to help them have educational discussions with their practitioners. Especially if they're new GPs or registrars who aren't yet across Medicare billing requirements.
Appointment length does not match billing by Practitioner
The first metric, Appointment length does not match billing by Practitioners displays the number of appointments where the recorded visit length does not align with the MBS item billed across each practitioner the appointment was with. At the top of the page, you can filter to custom date ranges within the last two years; by default, this metric will show you last month. This data includes the replacement telehealth items; you will see these referenced at the top of the screen.
TOP TIP! Use this metric in your practice to see which practitioners could benefit from support from the practice in regards to their usage of the MBS. It's important for the practice to be financially sustainable, and therefore it's important that practitioners are billing appropriately.
Appointment length does not match billing
This metric details the total number of appointments where the length does not match the billing item number. This is also the metric which is the top-line metric before clicking into the cabinet. Have a number in mind or target which you don't want to see this above. That way you can at a glance see if this metric needs attention.
Item 23: appointment length vs item billed
This table provides a list of appointments where Item 23 was billed but the actual appointment duration is longer than the MBS item billed. In this table, item 23 is billed but the actual appointment duration is 20 mins or more. You can also see any additional services billed on each appointment in the ‘Items Billed’ column, so you can manually check and ensure that the correct amount of time is being allocated for the services your practitioners are providing. This will also show any co-billing that took place.
NOTE: This metric is calculated from the time the appointment status went from ‘With Doctor’ to ‘At Billing’. If your doctors have a habit of keeping their notes open, that’s ok! We won’t include any actual appt duration that is longer than 60 minutes.
Item 36: appointment length vs item billed
This table provides a list of appointments where Item 36 was billed but the actual appointment is longer than the MBS item billed. In this table, item 36 is billed but the actual appointment duration is 40 mins or more. Read the Item 23: appointment length vs item billed section for more details on how to use these metrics in your practice.
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Trend of appointment length does not match billing
The final metric on your page is a trend graph where the appointment length does not match billing. You can choose to group the data by different time periods including day, week or month.
TOP TIP! When looking at trends we recommend looking at longer periods of time, so first change the date range to a quarter, six months or year. And then go to the trend line and either group by week or month! Use trends to see where things changed. Maybe changes occurred after a new practitioner joined your practice or after a staff meeting where these metrics were discussed with the team.