This blog post is an update to “Medical Billing Outsourcing Can Save your Time”
In the ever-evolving world of healthcare, medical billing has become an increasingly complex and time-consuming task. With the constant changes in regulations, coding requirements, and insurance policies, healthcare providers are finding it challenging to keep up while also focusing on patient care. Outsourcing medical billing can not only free up valuable time and resources for critical tasks but also maximize reimbursement. From reducing claim denials to increasing collections, leveraging the expertise and efficiency of a professional medical billing company help your practice take revenue cycle management (RCM) to new heights of success and efficiency.
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Recent Survey Reveals Surge in Medical Billing Outsourcing
In a recent survey by practice growth technology company Tebra, medical billing companies expressed a positive sentiment towards RCM outsourcing. (https://revcycleintelligence.com). About 43 percent-up from 27 percent in 2018-reported outsourcing of medical billing as a significant opportunity to leverage technology to optimize services, reduce repetitive tasks, and boost revenue.
The Revenue Cycle Intelligence article also noted that the surge in demand for outsourced medical billing services can be largely attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden transition to digital billing during this period has accelerated the adoption of medical billing outsourcing. Furthermore, it referenced a 2022 report which revealed that more than 20 percent of revenue cycle leaders, responsible for managing inpatient RCM services internally, have opted for outsourcing some of their outpatient RCM services.
How Outsourcing Simplifies Revenue Cycle Management
Medical billing outsourcing can simplify the RCM process and help medical practices save both time and money in many ways:
- Expertise and efficiency: Outsourcing companies can efficiently handle the intricacies of medical coding, billing regulations, and insurance claim submission processes. They have dedicated teams with expertise in handling various billing tasks, which results in greater efficiency and accuracy. By outsourcing these tasks, medical practices can free up their staff’s time to focus on patient care and core medical activities.
- Reduced administrative burden: Managing the billing process in-house requires significant administrative resources, including hiring and training billing staff, investing in medical billing software and infrastructure, and staying up-to-date with ever-changing regulations. By allowing the outsourcing company to manage these administrative burdens, healthcare providers can save on hiring and training costs, as well as reduce overhead expenses associated with maintaining billing infrastructure.
- Minimized billing errors and claim rejections: These companies employ trained professionals who are well-versed in medical coding and billing rules. They have extensive knowledge of the complex coding systems, such as ICD-10 and CPT, and can ensure accurate and compliant claim submissions. By reducing billing errors and rejections, outsourced medical billing and coding services can help practices avoid costly claim resubmissions, denials, and delays in reimbursement.
- Faster reimbursement and cash flow: Outsourcing RCM can lead to faster reimbursement and improved cash flow. Reliable service providers have established processes and technology to efficiently submit claims and follow up on outstanding payments. They have dedicated resources to handle denials, appeals, and collections, resulting in quicker resolution and improved RCM. Faster turnaround time improves cash flow for medical practices.
- Cost savings and scalability: Outsourcing eliminates the need for practices to invest in billing software, hardware, and infrastructure. They can avoid the costs associated with software updates, maintenance, and IT support. In fact, partnering with an experienced medical billing company provide cost savings of up to 30-40%. Outsourcing also allows practices to ramp up or down their billing operations based on their needs. They can easily scale the billing services as their practice grows or changes, without the need to invest in additional resources or staff.
- Data analytics and reporting: Medical billing outsourcing providers utilize advanced billing software and technology solutions that streamline processes and automate repetitive tasks. They provide robust reporting and analytics, so that practices can get insights into their financial performance, identify areas for improvement, and optimize RCM.
Outsourcing medical billing to an expert saves practices time and money by leveraging specialized expertise, reducing administrative burden, minimizing errors and rejections, improving cash flow, providing cost savings and scalability, and offering access to reporting capabilities. Practices need to choose a medical billing company that adheres to stringent industry regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and has robust security protocols in place to protect patient data from breaches and unauthorized access.
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Julie Clements, OSI’s Vice President of Operations, brings a diverse background in healthcare staffing and a robust six-year tenure as the Director of Sales and Marketing at a prestigious 4-star resort.