So You Have In-House Billing....Is It Time for a Change?
Not only does an outsourced billing service reduce your cost of operations, it increases your income as well – thus, putting more money in your pocket in both ways. A practice can expect a 5% to 15% increase in the amount they’re able to collect by switching to a billing service. ESC Medical Billing has boosted revenues by AT LEAST 10% to 30% for our clients.
Here are some the signs that you need to let the in-house fantasy go...
Your billing process is inefficient. Are you riding the revenue roller coaster monthly? If you’ve been watching your collections drop while the time to collect increases, you may have issues in your billing department. Outsourcing to a third-party billing service typically decreases the number of rejected claims and decreases the time it takes to receive payment from a payer. Revenues stabilize monthly.
You have staffing issues. Turnover is an issue in any industry, but turnover in a provider’s billing department is especially damaging. Claim processing is the economic life blood of a practice and a new addition or replacement in the billing department will inevitably lead to slowdown in the processing of claims. In-house billing also means you have worries regarding employee sick time, vacations, health benefits, training, and all of the other costs involved in maintaining an in-house billing staff.
You are the one dropping clues to your in-house billing staff on new codes you have heard about from your colleagues. Does this sound familiar---"Dr. Smith is doing Chronic Care Management billing. Are we doing that? Why aren't we doing that?" Your staff does not have evil intentions, but they are most likely clocking in and out each day, and have no real incentive to be innovative or work harder. An outsourced company like ESC Medical Billing has both incentives. Our interests are totally aligned with our doctors. We only do well if you do.
You’re a new provider. New providers have plenty to learn and worry about aside from their billing. Outsourcing their billing right off the bat can give them much needed relief from the day-to-day stress of launching a new practice, without a trial by fire in hiring, training and managing employees. Practice startup is the worst possible time to have an in-house billing issue that burns down your practice before you even get started.
You have different priorities. Most became doctors to help patients – not worry about the administrative/clerical side of the business. Outsourcing the billing process eliminates the hassle and frees doctors to concentrate on patients.
You are totally unprepared for the new MIPS/MACRA programs. Time is running out to get on board. October 2 is the last date to get started. Maybe you will not earn the incentives, but wouldn't you at least like to avoid penalties? In-house billing won't be much help to you here. An outsourced company like ESC Medical Billing has a wealth of experience and resources. We help take the load off.
The next best reason for using an outsourced billing service is: They’re the experts!
The average physician is not trained in computer hardware and software technologies, medical coding, claims processing, or practice and business management during his or her medical education. Yet to be successful and profitable, you must be an expert in all of this! So what do you do?
You hire a certified accountant to manage your business financials and tax concerns; you hire a lawyer for legal processes; you hire certified medical technicians to manage patient care; so why not hire an expert in medical billing and technologies to manage your claims and revenue cycle processes?
A Qualified Medical Billing Company:
Ensures Billing Compliance - with Medicare, Medicaid, and other third party payers by staying on top of the latest changes in regulations and requirements. This is especially important with the new MIPS/MACRA changes this year.
Reduces Billing Errors – by maintaining a staff of certified billing specialists, dedicated account managers, and advanced software technologies
Specializes in IT – to make sure all electronic processes integrate with billing from insurance clearinghouses to banking institutions to electronic medical records
Improves Patient Satisfaction – by providing toll free, real time, courteous service for your patients’ billing questions or issues. ESC Medical Billing is a Five-Star service in patient satisfaction.
Finally – maybe the most important reason to use a billing service is: Reduce stress and allow you to focus on patient care.
Did you go into medicine to become an expert in medical billing and practice management or was it to focus on treating patients? What is it costing you in time and effort to manage the day to day activities of your business and cash flow? If you suffer stress and strain on the business side, is this resulting in reduced quality of patient care?
In conclusion, if you could reduce the stress of managing your practice and increase profits, isn’t it time you consider the medical billing service company solution?
Please give us a call. We are regular people with an honest intent to help you go as far as possible.
Kelly Schoenfeld
(888) 484-2455
