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The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Your Medical Billing

There are both pros and cons of outsourcing your medical billing. Determining whether it’s the right choice for your business will depend on several factors. Let Medical Billing Service Review help you weigh your options with this detailed guide on whether or not outsourced medical billing services are right for you.

Medical billing can be a huge hurdle for any medical practice to get over. There are pros and cons to every billing method so choosing which one to go with can be a tough call to make.

To help make your decision a little easier we’re going to go over the pros and cons of outsourcing your medical billing.

1. Outsourcing Medical Billing Allows More Focus on Patient Care

Outsource billing allows you to focus on what truly matters in your practice. The patients. Outsource billing allows you to really be able to concentrate on patient care and satisfaction.

Outsource billing is especially great for small practices who can’t afford a really huge office staff. As Physicians, it’s really hard for you to both provide excellent care, and worry about the billing side of things.

After all, it’s really hard for one person to do everything. It’s also hard for someone to be in two places at once.

2. Reduces Billing Errors

Professional medical billers can make sure your claims are sent accurately and on time. It’s also their job to make sure that all their employees are thoroughly trained and ready to properly submit your medical claims.

This will lower the amount of rejected claims due to error and also will provide you with helpful feedback to maximize reimbursement claims later on down the road.

So sit back, relax, handle your customers and allow the professionals to handle your billing.

3. Saves Money In The Long Run

By outsourcing your medical billing, you could save thousands of dollars in your annual salary and benefits.

Medical billing companies charge a flat rate per claim. This makes it less costly for you to use their services and allows you to have extra money that you can put into things like medical equipment, office furniture, software, and other things.

You get the same great quality you would get by having medical staff do it, for way less cost.

4. A Medical Billing Company Helps Cash Flow

It’s never a fun time for anyone when someone calls out. This is especially true if your medical biller calls out or goes on vacation. When this happens sometimes your claims have to wait until they get back before they get submitted.

Billing interruptions mean that your reimbursements and your cash flow will also be interrupted.

By using a billing service, you will ensure that your claims go in and cash comes out continuously. This will keep your cash flow regulated.

5. Medical Billing Providers Ensures Billing Compliance

Healthcare is constantly changing all the time. It’s hard to keep up with the correct regulations for insurance companies like Medicaid, Medicare, and other third-party payers.

Medical billing companies are required to stay up-to-date on the latest rules and regulations so that they can make sure all of your claims are sent cleanly and you won’t run into any issues.

In the beginning, we said we were going over the pros and cons of outsourcing. Nothing is completely without flaws. Here are the cons of medical outsourcing.

6. It’s Hands Off

A lot of managers don’t mind the hands-off approach. They are okay with letting the professionals handle it and get it out of their hair.

For more hands-on managers though, they have a problem with handing the rails over to another person. The reason for this isn’t because they’re obsessive it’s because they are responsible for so much in the office.

Putting it in the hands of a medical billing company puts them in a vulnerable position where they have to trust that the medical billing company will get it done.

7. Risks to Customer Satisfaction

Patients being able to come into the office pay their bill, set up payments, and discuss their bill. You can’t do this if you put it in the hands of a medical billing company.

This not only puts customer satisfaction in jeopardy but also your relationship with the customers. They feel like it’s too impersonal to talk about these important matters over the phone.

8. Possible HIPAA Breach

It is very unlikely that this will happen, but the more people that get their hands on classified information, the more likely a HIPAA breach might happen.

This is always a possibility within any practice, giving confidential information to outsource medical billing companies just makes it a little more likely to happen.

9. There May Be Hidden Costs

Hidden costs can happen when you’re switching over from in-house billing to outsourcing. There are also costs when you’re preparing the work arrangement from the medical facility and the outsourcing company.

There is also legal fees and a fee if you have to pay someone to be a go-between between your facility and the billing company.

10. No Flexibility

Based on the changing conditions of a medical facility a manager may have no control over changing their employees work hours, or requesting overtime to increase productivity.

They get no control over openings and closings on holidays. This could mean the difference between high and low performance on certain months.

Medical billing can get a little confusing for more information on medical billing and billing coding, visit our blog.

All The Pros And Cons of Outsourcing

There are many pros and cons of outsourcing your medical billing. It can be cheaper once you get passed possible hidden fees. It can ensure cash flow, reduce billing errors, and give you more time to focus more on the thing that matters most. Helping your patients.

We would love to help you out with your medical billing needs, visit us to get a quote.

Mike Cynar On   /   Medical Billing Outsourcing   /   Leave a comment