Why You Need to Outsource Medical Billing

There is a commonly held misconception in the medical industry that medical billing should be kept in-house.  The problem for small practices, and sometimes even larger organizations, is that this involves hiring an individual or employing and entire team of professionals that specialize in medical billing and coding, and this can be pricey.

Although having in-house billing staff is certainly convenient, hiring a full-time employee for this task may not be necessary.  You simply might not have enough work to keep a medical billing and coding specialist busy enough to earn his or her pay.

It’s time to leave this lesson from medical school behind and consider the benefits to be gained from finding a reputable and reliable medical billing and coding specialist or service to outsource this task to.  Here are a few advantages you may enjoy as a result.

Save Money

Outsourcing your medical billing and coding is by no means free.  However, there are a variety of ways that choosing outsourcing over in-house billing could save you some money.

For starters, you could save on labor costs.  Full-time, salaried employees are expensive, and even more so if you offer a benefits package.  By comparison shopping you should be able to find less expensive options for outsourcing, either through a service or a contractor.

The major savings, however, could come from the flexibility to pay for work piecemeal.  With a full-time employee, you’re paying whether there’s work to be done or not.  Outsourcing means that you only have to pay for the work that is completed.

When you outsource medical billing, you’ll also find that service providers are driven to remain competitive and will offer guarantees for fast turnaround on coding, billing, collections, and so on.  This can mean more revenue or at least more timely payments.

In addition, companies that specialize in medical billing and coding have top-notch employees, practices and tools in place to ensure efficiency, and the ability to spread costs among all their clients, passing along the savings to you.

Then there are other costs to consider, mainly applicable software.  Medical billing and coding is a complex and constantly changing field that requires up-to-date software.  Proper software will also automate many tasks, saving time and money in the process.

Small practices may not have the budget to accommodate on-site labor and software specifically for billing and coding.  Hiring a service or a contractor alleviates the need for both.

Save Time

If you can’t afford to hire a professional billing and coding specialist for your practice, you or one of your other employees could end up saddled with this task.  Since you’re not necessarily as trained or experienced as a pro, you’re likely to waste a lot more time trying to figure things out.

In addition, you will almost certainly make mistakes, which could be costly.  Outsourcing will free up your employees to attend to more important tasks such as doing the jobs they were hired for and running your medical practice.  By outsourcing, you can save a ton of time, money, and frustration.

Free Up Office Space

Depending on the size of your practice and the number of doctors, nurses, and other staff you employ, physical space could be tight.  Outsourcing your medical billing and coding could free up some space that might otherwise be taken up by an extra desk and filing cabinets.

Gain Access to Expertise

This is perhaps the best reason to outsource for your medical billing and coding needs.  Saving time and money is great, but having an expert on your side is worth even more.

As a small practice, you probably couldn’t afford to hire the most qualified candidates for a medical billing and coding position.  Companies that offer such services exclusively, though, can create hiring packages that will tempt the most knowledgeable and experienced professionals.

This is only to your benefit as you’ll receive the speedy and accurate services your business needs to keep operations up and running.  These professionals not only stay up-to-date with industry changes and the latest technology, but they follow your claims and patient accounts from initial submission to ultimate payout, ensuring you get all the money you’re due.

This level of expertise might not be available to you from a hiring standpoint, but outsourcing can connect you with highly-trained specialists, increase your profit margin in a variety of ways, and make your life easier along the way.