Outsourcing is today a commonly used term with most medical practices opting to outsource their services due to the problems faced by them as a result of the ever changing healthcare changes. The add-ons have been the changing billing requirements and rules with ACA and of course the ICD-10 coding coming in.
Coding changes brought about by ICD-10 have led to greater complications in billing procedures that give rise to more delays and denials. Sometimes the amount of time it takes to collect small sums of money and fix coding issues is not worth it and this is when probably the decision of releasing the collection as a write off is taken which adversely impacts profitability. A small practice may not be able to endure the expenses of having an in-house billing staff considering all this. The billing rules are changing at a fast pace which is getting frustrating for an in-house billing staff. All these complications give rise to potential benefits of outsourced medical billing which seem attractive.
All these issues can be addressed by choosing a good medical billing partner to outsource to. This will enable you to free yourself from the administrative work and improve your cash flow. Some benefits are listed below.
- Outsourced medical billing company ensures the staff is conversant with all billing and electronic records and claim submission rules.
- Billing errors greatly contribute in the delay of claims process and even result in denials. Errors include incorrect coding, slow claims processing, decrease in follow-up, appeals filed in an untimely manner etc which result in decrease in revenue
- The professionals come with a sound knowledge in the latest practices and required legalities.
- Overheads like staff salaries, insurance and benefits are taken care of by the billing company, and as such financial commitments are not a burden for you.
- They are well trained in ICD-10 coding and come with unbeatable assurance of zero revenue loss with ICD-10.
Outsourcing, especially with ICD-10 will not only increase revenue and save costs, but also leave you with a good flow of cash to meet your financial requirements in lean times. This allows you to focus on patient care and run your practice more efficiently.