Choosing the right medical billing software is arguably one of the most important elements of maintaining a successful medical office of any kind. Typically speaking, using the right medical billing software to collect payments and keep track of patient billing can make a big difference in terms of effectiveness for a healthcare provider, and is an important decision that will impact both the short and long term success of a provider.
In fact, modern quality medical billing software can actually streamline most aspects of patient billing, which will often create a better experience for both the patient and the medical office in a plethora of ways. Mixed with detailed reporting, the right software can serve as financial boon for a medical practice.
It’s important that you choose the right payment solution. It’s quite frankly a pivotal point in setting up your medical practice, so you will want to find the right software that works best for you. It’s a decision that can alleviate a lot of the stresses and pitfalls with all sorts of medical billing. But just how much does quality medical billing software cost in 2024?
Medical Billing Software Costs in 2024
There are several things you will want to keep in mind when choosing the best medical billing software for your practice, most importantly of which is costs. At a glance, it may seem like the cheapest option is the best. Unfortunately, it’s not always that easy, especially for a new healthcare provider.
With typically two types of fee structures to consider, you’ll want to weight the benefits of each. For the most part, there are two types of medical billing software available to use: Percentage-Based and Monthly Rate. Each has their own pros and cons that could make a specific payment solution the best option for you.
Percentage-Based
With percentage-based billing software, a healthcare provider pays a percentage of the total transaction revenue to the software provider. While this can be a solid option for smaller practices just getting started in the industry, it can also be a hindrance to growth as the provider will typically pay more as they grow.
This can come with lower upfront costs, helping mitigating some of the startup costs for the provider as well as cut down on some of the risk. Going with a percentage-based option can also allow for more scalability in the early life of a provider, which has its benefits.
However, it’s often recommended to instead look for an affordable monthly rate payment solution when it comes to medical billing software.
Monthly Rate
Also known as a subscription-based service, a monthly rate payment solution allows providers to pay a fixed monthly fee to utilize all the services offered by the payment processor. This allows providers to more accurately budget the expenses of their medical billing software compared to a percentage-based software. Even though this can lead to higher upfront costs, that’s not always the case.
By paying a monthly rate, you can also often get access to any updates and feature additions the software provider may roll out for the service. This can be great as both technology and internet infrastructure continues to improve, creating new landscapes and opportunities for streamlining the payment process for patients and insurance providers.
For most healthcare providers, going with the monthly rate option is often the best solution, especially if you can find a low-cost medical billing software that offers features that are important to the healthcare industry.
Other Important Features
Of course cost is one of the most important facets of choosing the right medical billing software as a healthcare provider, but there are other important features as well. In order to manage every aspect of the financial operations for a provider, you will want to look out for a payment solution that offers some of these features as well:
- Detailed Reporting and Analytics – The ability to generate real-time reports based on patient billing including revenue, collection status, and payment records.
- Direct Payment Invoicing – Generate professional invoices and process secure payments sent directly to patients.
- Electronic Payment Claims – A seamless electronic payment processing system to improve patient satisfaction when it comes to billing.
- Mobile Payments – Mobile app and QR code scan and pay support can offer convenient options for patient billing.
- Recurring Payments – Convenient recurring payments and payment plans make it easier for patients and staff to ensure billing is handled in a quick and convenient way.
- Terminal Payment Support – The ability to quickly setup POS and virtual terminals to process payments in-person and in real time.
Depending on the size and structure of your healthcare organization, you may also want to look for a service that can quickly and easily integrate with your existing software to handle other features such as claim generation, insurance contracts, medical coding, insurance eligibility verification, and adhere to compliance regulations and requirements.
Best Billing Software for Medical Practices
In the modern age of technology, there are plenty of payment solutions available for new and established medical practices in the healthcare industry. But you’ll still want to make sure you pick the right medical billing software, as it can be a pain to integrate using new software once you’ve already established an existing system.
Here is a comparison of some of the top medical billing software and their prices in 2024:
Billing Software | Monthly Pricing | Terminal Support | Direct Invoicing | Mobile Payments |
Kareo | Starts at$374 / mo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Inovalon | Starts at$250 / mo | ✓ | ||
DrChrono | Starts at$349 / mo | ✓ | ✓ | |
Paysley* | Starts at$69 / mo | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
* Best option in terms of price and features.
Regardless of the billing software you choose, you’ll also want to ensure the payment solution offers intuitive but easy to use payment processing options as well as high quality customer service and support. The integration of quality medical billing software is well worth the cost, especially if you’re using a service such as Paysley that knows the more technical requirements of serving as a payment solution specifically for a healthcare provider or practice.