One of the critical decisions that a medical facility must make is whether to keep medical billing services in-house with expertly trained staff or to outsource the task to a professional medical billing specialist.
When it comes to medical billing, it is demanding, challenging, and requires significant investment in both the cost of setting up the system and in having the necessary staff to properly code, bill, pursue claims, and make payments.
On top of this, if medical billing is done in-house, employee turnover rate, employee benefits, and system maintenance must be managed effectively as the financial health of the facility is directly tied to the streamlined process of medical billing cash flow.
Although it is tempting to keep the billing in-house, the frequency of reimbursements, regulation changes, and the time-consuming nature of the task has caused many medical practices to choose to outsource.
With this said, if your medical practice is still hesitant about outsourcing, here are a few benefits that your company could reap from outsourcing.
Enhanced Cash Flow
When you have a professional medical billing specialist taking care of your billing cycle, your firm will get paid faster, have more accessible capital, and can cut costs in the on-going training department. When medical billing is streamlined, it can lead to better medical care delivery and better state-of-the-art equipment.
Higher Patient Satisfaction
Your medical practice will enjoy a higher quality of patient care as your staff will have more time to spend with patients. Beyond this, your staff will be under less stress, not be stuck in on-going training, and will have more time to ensure that treatment processes are comprehensive and go smoothly.
Nurses, lab technicians, and doctors will be able to interact with and form long-term relationships with patients, ensuring that your medical practice remains health-oriented and patient-focused.
Reduce Labor Costs
If you choose to outsource your medical billing, you forego the unnecessary costs of hiring a dedicated billing team. This allows your practice to infuse that capital in other areas such as on-going training for all staff on payroll.
Minimize Errors
Not only will there be fewer billing and coding errors which saves your medical practice time and money but reimbursement time gets reduced as the third-party company you are using will eliminate simple errors that typically slow down payments. Plus, by using a reputable billing specialist, your practice will have fewer pending claims and fewer claim denials that are often due to missing billing information or errors.
Beyond this, a third-party medical billing company will be able to provide you with critical financial data that will enhance your operational speed. You will know which insurance carriers pay faster, which services get challenged more often, and whether self-pay and co-pay payments are common factors.
Save On Software Maintenance
By choosing to outsource, you save a large portion of the money that would normally be put towards software and hardware expenses like upgraded equipment and equipment repairs.
Regulatory Compliance
All physicians, medical providers, hospitals, private practices, and clinics must be up to date with the constantly changing regulations, protocols, and third-party payers. By using a medical billing specialist, their coding experts will be up to date on all changes, keeping you ready.
Patient and Organization Security
By using a medical billing specialist, you will be able to go completely digital and paperless. This can help you streamline your process, reduce how much storage space you need, and reduce office supply costs. In addition to this, organization and patient privacy will be safe and secure with encrypted data methods.
In addition to the above benefits, if your medical practice was specifically opened to be patient-focused, outsourcing eliminates the hassle of running the clerical side of the practice. If you are experiencing a high staff turnover rate, have inefficient billing processes, or are a new provider, choosing to outsource can reduce or eliminate all of these issues.