Six Benefits of Outsourced Medical Billing Services For Your Practice

Are you planning to hire a third-party to handle your medical billing? Managing your independent practice on your own can result in a lot of stress that may affect your service to your patients. Your plan to hire the services of outsourcing medical billing providers can be the right option.

The healthcare sector in the United States is booming, thanks to the increased number of insured Americans and the prevalence of chronic illnesses like obesity and heart ailments. According to Statista, the number of Americans spending on healthcare rose to about $3.5 trillion in 2019, from about $24.5 billion in 1960. This article discusses the benefits and advantages of outsourced medical billing, as well as the disadvantages of in-house billing for your practice.

Disadvantages of In-house Medical Billing

Processing your medical bills and claims in-house may increase your stress and affect the quality of your service to your patients. Many hospitals, independent practices, and urgent care centers opt to outsource their medical bills processing to avoid such issues. Here are other disadvantages of in-house medical billing:

• Higher financial neglect and fraud risk – If you cannot strictly monitor your billing staff, you will lose revenue from inefficient billing management. Your employees can also connive to defraud your practice.
• Increased operating costs – With in-house billing, you will pay for the salary and law-mandated benefits of your staff and other related expenses like electricity cost.
• Personnel management issues – You will be responsible for managing your billing department staff. If you have high employee turnover, turning to an outsourcing medical billing provider can be a more viable option.
• Prone to medical errors – When filing for medical claims, you must use the appropriate codes as provided in the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems version 10 (ICD-10). If your employees are not updated with the latest coding practices, they are likely to commit coding errors that will delay the processing of your bills and claims.

Benefits and Advantages of Outsourced Medical Billing Services

Hiring the services of medical billing service providers can have many benefits for your practice. These organizations specialize in processing medical claims, so you ensure appropriate processing and collection of your bills. Here are other benefits of outsourcing your medical billing processing:

• Improved medical billing capability – Outsourcing your billing management ensures timely and error-free medical processing. It will also reduce the number of rejected claims.
• Better cash flow management – Your provider will ensure a steady flow of claims, which will also result in improved revenue flow for your medical practice.
• Automatic patient insurance verification – Medical billing service providers have the right tools and systems in place, like automatic confirmation of a patient’s insurance coverage. They can determine quickly whether your patients promptly pay their premiums, whether they are eligible for coverage, and whether they have already consumed their allocation for a particular disease or injury.
• Patient satisfaction – By outsourcing your billing process, you can focus on providing care to your patients.
• HIPAA privacy and security compliance – Your provider ensures that it is updated with regulatory changes and developments to guarantee compliance.
• Cost-saving – You will not be paying for employee salaries and other operating costs.

Medical billing is an essential component of your practice. By adopting the right strategy, you can ensure smooth medical claims processing and improve patient satisfaction.