Medical Billing vs. Bookkeeping: What a Virtual Assistant Can Handle

  

Running a healthcare practice is demanding — between managing patients, staff, and compliance, there’s often little time left for back-office tasks. Two of the most essential (and often confused) roles are medical billing and bookkeeping. While they both involve money, they serve different purposes — and the good news is, a Virtual Assistant (VA) can help with both.

Let’s break down what each role entails and how a trained Healthcare Virtual Assistant can support your practice.

What Is Medical Billing?

Medical billing is the process of submitting and following up on claims with health insurance companies to receive payment for services rendered by a healthcare provider. It includes:

• Verifying patient insurance eligibility

• Creating and submitting claims

• Tracking claims and payments

• Following up on denied claims

• Managing billing inquiries from patients

• Coordinating with insurance companies

This process is crucial to maintaining your practice’s cash flow and avoiding delays in reimbursement.

 What Is Bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping involves the systematic recording of all financial transactions related to your practice — not just those tied to insurance. It includes:

• Recording income and expenses

• Reconciling bank and credit card statements

• Generating financial reports

• Managing accounts payable and receivable

• Preparing documents for your accountant or CPA

• Organizing records for tax season

In short, bookkeeping gives you a clear view of your overall financial health.

What Can a Virtual Assistant Handle in Medical Billing?

A trained medical billing VA can support or even take over much of the day-to-day administrative work, such as:

✅ Insurance verification
✅ Patient data entry and claims creation
✅ Claims submission and tracking
✅ EOB (Explanation of Benefits) handling
✅ Denial follow-up and re-submission
✅ HIPAA-compliant documentation

By outsourcing these repetitive, time-consuming tasks, your in-house staff can focus more on patient care.

 What Can a Virtual Assistant Handle in Bookkeeping?

A virtual bookkeeping assistant can also keep your financial records clean and accurate:

✅ Enter daily expenses and income
✅ Track payments from patients and insurers
✅ Reconcile accounts
✅ Monitor cash flow
✅ Send and follow up on invoices
✅ Prepare monthly or quarterly reports

With a VA handling this, you'll always have a clear financial picture without drowning in paperwork.

Medical Billing vs. Bookkeeping — What's the Difference?

Feature	Medical Billing	Bookkeeping
Focus	Insurance claims & reimbursement	Overall financial record-keeping
Audience	Insurance companies & patients	Internal (for you, your accountant, IRS)
Tools Used	Practice management systems (Kareo, DrChrono)	QuickBooks, Xero, Wave
Goal	Revenue recovery	Financial clarity and compliance

 Why You Should Hire a Virtual Assistant for Both

Outsourcing both functions to trained VAs allows you to:

• Reduce operational costs

• Improve billing turnaround time

• Eliminate backlog in payments or invoices

• Stay organized and ready for tax season

• Focus more on patient care and business strategy

At VAA On Demand 24/7, our team of Medical and Bookkeeping Virtual Assistants are trained to support healthcare professionals like you — accurately, securely, and around the clock.