Proper medical billing is vital to the healthcare industry. As a medical biller, it is important that you charge patients with their correct bill. However, studies show that around 80% of medical bills have errors, 25% of which are due to typos. Data also shows that errors in medical bills cost hospitals an estimated $935 million weekly. Errors in medical billing can have an impact on the credit of a patient.
There are many reasons why medical billing errors happen. For one, the medical biller may already be overwhelmed with so many customer concerns. Errors in medical billing can result in medical fraud and when this happens the patient could sue your medical practice. Surely you would not want this to happen. This is where outsourcing medical billing can come in handy. In this article, we will learn the reasons why outsourcing medical billing is good for your business.
Reasons Outsourcing Medical Billing Is Good For Your Practice
- Faster Insurance Payments
- Secured Patient Data
- Fewer Errors
- Better Compliance
- Access to Advanced Technology
- Improved Returns
- Focus on Patient Care
- Enhanced Patient Satisfaction
Let’s start.
Why You Should Outsource Medical Billing
Errors in medical billing can have a huge impact on your practice. It affects not only your business but also the customer experience. This could be the result of your medical billers being overwhelmed with work. Outsourcing medical billing can help release some of the burden away from your medical billers. Here we cite some of the reasons you should outsource medical billing.
1. Faster Insurance Payments
When the medical billing is error-free, you can look forward to a swift payment of your insurance claims. Outsourcing medical billing helps ensure that you get billed for the right services that you availed. Inaccuracies in medical billing can lead to audits and severe penalties. Working with an outsourced provider gives you access to a wide range of benefits.
By outsourcing medical billing, you get to work with a team of experts who are trained and knowledgeable in all aspects of medical billing. From benefit verification, coding, claims submission, payment collection, and others, you can be assured of a more accurate and efficient billing process.
Medical billing errors can result in claim denials and delayed payments. The outsourced provider will ensure accurate coding, proper documentation, and timely claims submission. They will submit your claims accurately and without errors. As a result, this can reduce the chances of claim denials and late payments.
2. Secured Patient Data
In 2022, a data breach at Shields Healthcare Group exposed the personal data of about 2 million people at 60 locations. This goes down as the biggest data breach of any medical institution of that year. As the threat of cyber attacks in the sector continues to increase, it is important that you implement security measures to secure patient data.
Outsourcing medical billing ensures that the data of your patients remain secure and confidential. These companies put cybersecurity front and center. Any incident of data breach can compromise and ruin their reputation. Most service providers are HIPAA-compliant and have a 100% secure medical billing process.
Ensure that the provider you plan to partner with has data security measures in place. Always do your homework and first investigate if they have a security protocol and ensure that they are trustworthy. Patients need to be given an assurance that their data will remain safe and confidential for their peace of mind.
3. Fewer Errors
Medical billing is a rapidly changing sector. Adjusting to these changes can become time-consuming. Keeping up with these regulations can be stressful. By outsourcing, you don’t have to be stressed out with these rules and regulations. The outsourced company is updated with these changes. They have the knowledge and tools to ensure the proper submission of claims. As a result, there will be fewer errors which could help reduce denied and late claims.
Studies show that 80% of medical bills have errors, with 63% due to hospital coding mistakes and 44% coming from inaccuracies in clinical documentation. Working with medical billing companies will help decrease these mistakes. They have the training and knowledge to quickly locate and fix mistakes. In addition, they can determine the proper codes to use in your medical billing.
Outsourcing medical billing helps guarantee that the billing process is up-to-date, free from human error, and profitable. They employ quality assurance measures that lessen billing mistakes and maintain accuracy. Aside from that, it helps keep the billing process up-to-date and free from human error.
4. Better Compliance
As mentioned earlier, regulations in the healthcare industry are constantly changing which can make compliance difficult for medical billers. Adherence to ICD10 can be another challenge for medical billers. These changes can have a huge impact on time management and payment outcomes for healthcare providers.
Outsourcing to a provider means that you can ensure compliance with the new medical billing rules and protocols. They stay updated with the changing rules and regulations in the industry. Medical billing companies always stay on top of industry changes. In addition, they are aware of changes that will come and will notify you of these changes in advance.
By staying compliant, the medical billing firm will help you stay competitive in a dynamic industry. The outsourced provider will ensure that your billing obligations are updated with the latest healthcare standards. Staying compliant is important as it helps you avoid penalties and sanctions from industry regulators.
5. Access to Advanced Technology
To keep up with the changes in the industry, you also need to invest in the proper technology and software to help streamline the billing process. However, investing in new technology can be costly if you do not have the budget. Having the right technology and software can help improve the accuracy and speed of billing and payment collection.
Aside from that, you will also need to spend funds to train your team on how to use the new technology. On the other hand, outsourcing gives you access to the latest technology. The outsourced team already has the knowledge of using the software so you do not have to invest in their training.
Using the latest medical billing software can help automate your billing process. Manual inputting of patient data into your system can be time-consuming. With advanced technology at your disposal, it will save the time of the medical biller and reduce the likelihood of mistakes in inputting patient or financial information.
6. Improved Returns
Outsourcing medical billing can help improve your potential returns. It can be hard to expect huge returns if your staff is already overwhelmed and if you keep on fixing errors. On the other hand, you can look forward to increasing your potential returns with the help of an outsourcing company. Medical billing providers perform 15% better at collecting bills and can lower your unpaid bills.
Outsourcing to a third-party provider also saves you money in terms of salaries, office infrastructure, and maintaining billing technology and software. Aside from that, you do not have to worry about overhead costs resulting in timely submission of claims and increased reimbursements.
By outsourcing, you can decrease bottlenecks that can slow down revenue collection. The provider can identify and resolve these issues and ensure a smooth process. They will examine your revenue cycle and make the necessary changes to increase revenue and returns. The outsourcing company will also help increase your cash flow.
7. Focus on Patient Care
As a healthcare provider, your primary focus should be on patient care. Medical billing is a time-consuming process that can stop you from providing top-notch healthcare services. Surely you did not enter medical practice to fill out paperwork and negotiate with insurance companies. Definitely, you would want to do what you do best and that is patient care.
Working with a medical billing company will free up your time so you can focus on taking care of patients. No more getting tied up with paperwork as you have more time to provide quality patient care. You can concentrate on functions like overseeing appointments, managing check-in and check-out, and handling clinical concerns.
With the billing company handling the financial aspect of healthcare, you can prioritize your main responsibility instead of being overwhelmed with administrative tasks. This way you can provide patients the attention they deserve.
8. Enhanced Patient Satisfaction
When you are focused on delivering quality patient care, enhanced patient satisfaction follows. For some patients, going to the clinic can be cumbersome and inconvenient. In some cases, it can also become a bad experience for them. Aside from having to come to terms with the medicines that will be prescribed to them, they will also have to deal with the money matters.
With the outsourcing company handling the financial side, you do not have to worry about haggling with patients about finances. This helps alleviate the stress associated with healthcare resulting in patient satisfaction and increased retention rate. With your team focused on patient care, they will be more effective and in the process increase patient satisfaction.
Outsourcing medical billing means your staff will be more present and efficient in tending to the needs of patients. Data from Accenture reveals that 50% of patients say that a single bad experience can ruin their entire experience with a healthcare provider. By outsourcing medical billing, you can address the patient experience and keep them satisfied with your practice.
Get The Medical Billing Support You Need with airisX
Outsourcing allows you, as a business, to focus on your main competencies and operations and forget the hassle of sharp learning curves when the task falls outside your company’s core area of business.
By outsourcing to a leader like airisX, you will be able to scale up quickly by getting the right resources, processes and technological infrastructure. No matter what your scaling requirements are, airisX will give you the best optimised solution and you will be able to focus on delighting your customers. Your back office operations will be simplified, giving your users a high-quality experience. Contact us at contact@airisx.com to get a customized medical billing solution tailored to your needs.