Although there have been some improvements in the recent economy, employers are still looking for places to cut down on costs while keeping processes efficient and at the same level of service. One common place to cut costs is by outsourcing medical billing. This is a time-consuming process that is typically completed by an employee in-house, but it might be time to consider whether outsourcing fits the needs of your business. There are benefits and downsides to outsourcing, and this article will help present both sides of the story to you.
Keeping Your Medical Billing In-House
Benefits
Obviously, there are several benefits to keeping medical billing employees in-house, since this is the typical structure for many operations.
- It’s easier to communicate with employees if there are any issues or instances of confusion, since you’ll be able to see and speak to them much easier than if they completed the tasks offsite.
- When doctors are operating small practices, it also provides a sense of comfort to keep all the tasks inside the office for ease of processing and ability to change procedures on an as-needed basis.
- Finally, if your business already has the equipment, staff, and the timelines to complete medical billing, it might be easier to keep it in-house since you would lose all the time invested in training current staff.
Downsides
- The downside of maintaining employees to handle the medical billing is that these employees are typically associated with a full time salary and benefits, which can put a financial squeeze on the office. As a result, these departments are often kept small (sometimes involving only one person) which can create delays or backlogs if those employees are sick or taking vacation leave.
- Another downside to this smaller operation style is that these employees are often not supervised, which can lead to problems like embezzlement.
Outsourcing your Medical Billing
Benefits
- On the plus side, outsourcing your medical billing is a very quick fix to reducing costs.
- Additionally, you’re able to capitalize on the experience of a staff that is already trained and likely does nothing but medical billing. This means they have streamlined their processes for efficiency and can meet your needs with very little guidance from you.
- If you’re concerned about their processing time and procedures, most companies will have their own software to run reports for your at your request. The requirements for your outsourcing company will be laid out clearly in the contract they agree to, so everyone will be well aware of the expectations and relationship.
Downside
- On the downside, you’ll obviously have less control over the total process if it’s been outsourced to someone else. Since these companies are working with their own schedules and processes, you’ll have to adjust to them rather than those employees adjusting to your office.
- It’s a more hands-off approach, of course, which is balanced out by the cost savings. There will be a transition period, of course, so be prepared to be flexible during this initial period.
There are many reasons to consider outsourcing. Go into it with an open mind and an understanding of what to expect.
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