Why are In-House Billing Operations Inefficient?

Practices that have elected to develop their own in-house billing operation too often realize that they are not equipped with the necessary amount of time and/or resources to manage their billing revenue cycle efficiently. 

Insufficient training and experience of staff, together with the overwhelming changes in rules, regulations, and technology, often leads to incorrect billing of services performed.  This combination results in lost revenue, delays in A/R, and an unnecessary number of denied claims…among other shortfalls.

Why Outsource Your Billing? 

Outsourcing is a strategic decision made by clients who wish to focus their full attention on their core competency: practicing medicine!

Since many physicians simply do not have the time and/or resources to properly manage the complicated medical billing process, outsourcing to experienced professionals tends to be the best fitting solution.  From the perspective of accountability, it is far easier for health care providers to hold another company accountable to an acceptable standard of service than it is to manage their own employees to that same standard.  From the perspective of technology and operational costs, the basic principle of "economies of scale" is what allows our organization to absorb the high costs associated with implementing best-in-class technology solutions and business processes more so than an in-house billing department could achieve.

Statistically speaking, very few practices that have decided to outsource their billing operation ever turn back to in-house billing.  Like anything, of course, there are pros and cons that should be considered based on your own situation, expectations, and comfort level; however, from a business perspective, most people would agree that the benefits of outsourcing grossly outweigh any perceived drawbacks.

Tangible Benefits

• Increase gross revenue
• Improve cash flow
• Reduce age of A/R
• Reduce denial rate
• Reduce operating overhead
• Divest technology costs
• Reduce interaction with insurance companies
• Provide better patient care

Intangible Benefits

• Offload accountability and risk
• Reduce stress / anxiety
• Enjoy access to experienced and reliable billing professionals
• Access state-of-the-art technology without the headache of managing or maintaining it
• Expand your practice's reach
• Maximize use of internal office staff for other key priorities