Until recently, healthcare experts did their coding and billing with the assistance of paid staff. This approach was sufficient when practices were somewhat basic and straightforward. However, the process has become more complicated over time with stricter timelines, rules, and forms to submit, which can be confusing.
With less time to work with their patients, numerous medical services experts have shifted to medical coding and billing companies to deal with this aspect of their practice. This means that they outsource the coding, handling, and collecting data so they can invest more energy and time into their medical practice.
Outsourcing offers numerous advantages and you will see notable improvements when you choose an experienced company to handle your coding and billing requirements. Here are some of them:
Improved Documentation
If you evaluate the number of resources needed to archive medical billing records appropriately in-house, you will quickly realize that you are spending a lot of time and money on these tasks. Once you outsource your medical billing, you will have a straightforward, simple, and well-organized documentation process.
As you know already, numerous documents flow through your billing department. Whether they are related to payment posting, follow-ups, or eligibility verification, you are probably cycling through electronic and paper records in large volumes every day.
That leads to extra storage costs or physical space requirements in your office, slowing down your follow-up process, and difficulty retrieving documents by practitioners for review. Documentation is something that can have a tremendous effect on the efficiency of your practice. These effects over the long run will put a dent in your revenue.
The experts at RevenueXL note that outsourcing companies can provide you with robust filing and document management systems that organize your records. Therefore, when you need to access any document, the process is simple, well-organized, and quick – resulting in more income for you and fewer headaches for any individual who needs access to the records.
Minimize Coding and Billing Mistakes
Once you outsource your medical billing services, you will be in a contractual arrangement with that billing company, and they are required to attain a specific degree of execution. That means they need to provide the best service possible, with the goal that you remain a client. By doing adequate research and choosing the best billing company, your errors will reduce significantly.
Even if the billing company makes a mistake, it won’t cost your practice anything. Claim denial cases cost practices an average of $25 to $30 each, regardless of whether a resubmittal was approved. But when it comes to outsourcing, you don’t have to worry about the cost of finding the error or resubmitting. That is the duty of the billing company to deal with the additional cost and effort.
Note: You should demand performance reports to ensure that no errors are being made without resubmittal because they decrease your profit.
Dedicated, Highly Trained Specialists
The outsourcing team has one mission: to improve the profitability of your practice. The team reviews and posts all payments guaranteeing that the patients pay the right sum and prevent incorrect changes. Each outstanding claim is followed up until it’s processed and settled. This isn’t a different team. They are incorporated with your current staff and have similar objectives and priorities.
If the practice is not making money, then the medical billing service is not making money either. So, they will work hand-in-hand with your office staff to ensure an effective workflow and provide training when required. Additionally, the practice obtains access to the billing specialists’ broad knowledge base to explore the always-expanding industry changes.
Guaranteed Compliance
The healthcare industry regulations are always changing, making accurate medical billing very hard to keep up with. There are constantly new protocols and changes from Medicaid, Medicare, and third-party payers. Despite it being difficult to predict what those changes will involve, it’s obvious to anticipate that they will change.
To appropriately adhere to each changing protocol, you will need a dedicated expert to stay up-to-date on the latest information as soon as it comes out. Outsourced medical billing companies must stay alert to changes like these regularly. That guarantees that they will continually submit clean claims and that the practices they collaborate with are always compliant.
Reduced Costs
When you think about the cost of outsourcing your billing and coding to a certified organization as opposed to employing your staff and purchasing the software and equipment required to perform the task yourself, you can save a lot of money. The best medical coding and billing companies offer top-notch services that need no updating of software or equipment, no extra space in your office, and no additional personnel training since they take care of that themselves.
You are only required to pay a small percentage of the income received from your practice. That means you will receive the best services explicitly paid for the work done, not on a per-hour rate. This is an incredible motivation to employ a top-quality medical billing and coding company for your practice as they will provide you with the best services at a far lower cost compared to when you and your staff complete these tasks yourselves.
When Is the Right Time to Outsource Your Medical Billing?
Outsourcing might be the best medical billing solution for your income cycle spills. You can save a lot of time and money by outsourcing your billing to professionals. By doing so, your medical practice will have a consistent and recognizable increase in income. Ask yourself these questions:
- Are you continually falling behind on repayment and compliance issues?
- Is it difficult for you to find experienced, certified medical billers who can take care of business with minimal mistakes?
- Are your claims continually being denied because of small billing errors that could have been easily prevented?
- Do you need a more exhaustive examination and better reporting of your financial status on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis?
- Are you finding it a challenge to keep up with billing and credentialing requirements?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should consider working with specialists now. It’s time to outsource your medical billing to improve your medical practice.
Also Read: Things to Know Before Building a Healthcare App