Medical billing outsourcing can assist hospitals and doctors’ offices with large financial backlogs. Regardless of how passionate you are about patient care, you can only complete your mission if you have the right medical billing and collections team to handle your financial requirements.

You can hire full-time in-house medical billers or outsource billing to a professional outsourced billing service. Both strategies benefit medical practices differently, but we strongly recommend outsourcing billing and collections. This is why.

What Does Medical Billing Outsourcing Mean?

The process of outsourcing billing and collections is extremely simple. A third-party service provider handles all day-to-day billing and collections.

When you hire an outsourced billing and collections company, claims and medical billing are handled by a team of experienced professionals. The remainder of the statements and other required documents are digitally transmitted to the outsourced billing and collections company.

The service provider will handle data entry, claim submission, and all claim follow-ups. They will also send invoices to patients and keep track of delinquent accounts. However, you should know that most outsourced billing and collections firms charge their clients 5% to 10% of the amount collected.

Outsourced billing and collections are a good option to avoid hiring an in-house administrative department. If you already have EHR software, data entry will be much easier. The software stores the patient’s information, which can then be sent to the medical billing outsourcing company, eliminating the need for manual data entry and improving accuracy.

How Can Medical Billing Outsourcing and Collection Help Your Hospital?

If you are a healthcare provider or run your healthcare facility, you would welcome the opportunity to increase your bottom line and profitability. Unfortunately, due to the time it takes to bill and the number of unpaid reimbursements, medical billing is a major source of stress for medical practitioners in the United States.

Despite the difficulties in recruiting and retaining employees, many medical practices employ in-house billers. Fortunately, the medical billing landscape is changing. Consider outsourced billing and collections to increase efficiency while decreasing workload and costs.

The following are the top benefits of outsourcing medical billing and collections.

1. Decrease Billing Errors

Outsourced billing and collections connect your medical facility with a team of experienced billers. Outsourced billing companies stay competitive by putting their employees through rigorous training processes that result in highly qualified medical billers. These individuals are well-versed in complex claim submissions, ensuring the accuracy and precision of each claim submitted.

You can be confident that the number of rejected claims will be significantly reduced because each claim is thoroughly reviewed and checked for errors before being transmitted to payers.

2. Enhance Customer Relationships

Customers are more likely to trust and want to maintain a long-term relationship with you if you give them the attention and care they deserve. This is critical because it promotes a more positive environment in your practice and increases client retention. You should know that taking care of medical billing and collections instead of your front office staff can boost morale and get more done.

If you relieve your employees of the hassle and redundancy of the lengthy billing process, they can focus more on your patients, resulting in higher patient satisfaction. Because they receive uninterrupted professional and courteous assistance with their billing queries and concerns, your clients are likelier to leave your facility happy and satisfied.

3. Reduce Costs 

One of the best things about outsourced billing and collections firms is that they frequently operate on a scale economy. Because of the high production volume and overhead costs spread across multiple clients, you pay a low individual price.

You will be relieved to learn that outsourcing medical billing provides numerous advantages that, when combined, reduce overall operating expenses. These advantages include improved software, streamlined processes, and reduced staffing.

Recognize that supporting these elements on your own can be very costly. Hiring in-house billing staff incurs massive costs for salaries and benefits and other onboarding and training expenses.

4. Remain Abeam with Industry Trends and Changes 

Keep in mind that changes in the industry can have a significant impact on how you manage medical billing. You’re probably aware that adhering to all applicable medical rules and regulations is mandatory. For example, many medical billers still struggle with the transition to ICD-10.

A reliable outsourced billing and collection partner ensures your medical practice complies with all current regulatory requirements. This is critical because it saves you the trouble of staying current on regulations while providing you with legal and financial protection.

Outsourcing billing and collections to a HIPAA-compliant third-party provider ensures compliance in their activities. Internal and external audits back up all policies and procedures, so you can be confident that your medical billing processes are always accessible.

5. Access to Comprehensive Services

You get more than professional paperwork management when hiring an outsourced billing and collections firm. Remember that outsourcing companies can also handle charge entry, medical coding, claim scrubbing, deposit verification and payment posting, EOB reconciliation, medical credentialing, medical claim submission, and patient statement organization.

In short, outsourced billing and collections handle all aspects of the billing process from start to finish.

In Conclusion

Medical billing is one of the most time-consuming tasks in any practice or hospital, regardless of size. Outsourcing billing and operations to a reputable company save time, reduces legal and regulatory headaches, and increases productivity.

For your medical billing process to be successful, you must focus and be knowledgeable. This is why so many hospitals are following the trend. Working with a medical billing expert allows medical practices to stay current with the market and meet industry standards.