Healthcare billing has been one of your worries lately? Are you confused between choosing in-house and outsourced medical billing? Read this article further to understand the pros and cons of in-house and outsourced medical billing:
Pros of in-house billing:
Ability to monitor and control: In-house billing provides the scope for direct control of your financial proceedings. You can directly question the staff about any issue and get the answers in real-time. You can modify the billing process. In-house helps you with staff accountability and transparency.
Ability to utilize your own resources: When medical billing is handled by In-house staff, doctors need not pay for an outsourced biller and coder. If you have already spent a huge sum on setting up medical billing software and on training staff it may not be worth it to opt for outsourced billing.
Flexibility: When the in-house staff handles medical billing, you have the flexibility to make the rules. On the other hand, a third party will not entertain any changes that breach the contract.
Cons of in-house billing:
Cost: When in-house medical staff is allocated for billing and coding work, the doctor needs to set up hardware and software training, salary benefits, and the like. It takes a lot of time and investment. There are plenty of such companies that outsource billing in Brea California.
Liability: In-house billing is a stressful occupation. The in-house staff is expected to handle insurance and security protocols. They should be able to discard superbills or filing to appeal claim denials and the like. For this, you have to ensure your staff follows norms such as HIPPA (Health Insurance and Portability And Accountability Act) privacy and PHI(Protected Health Information) security violations. Keeping a close tab of the billing will also be required.
Support issues: Hiring many billers as an in-house staff can be heavy on your wallet. But, an understaffed team can create support issues when that staff is on leave. Also, in-house staff who has been trained for billing may not know the latest software and their benefits in payroll. Therefore, tech support is the other issue that arises. This can lead to a stall in cash flow.
Pros of Outsourced Medical Billing:
Bigger revenue: Outsourcing is much faster. You incur less overhead costs. This will result in higher revenue. The best medical billing company will be updated with the billing and coding details. It is more reliable and much faster than in-house billing.
Lesser Costs: In-house billing requires office space, technical support, and dedicated staff. But, outsourced medical billing will operate in a different space, using their technical support. Hence, it costs less.
Easier record keeping: When billing is outsourced, they maintain weekly, monthly and annual e-reports for insurance claims. This regular update ensures meticulous documentation and billing.
Easy to audit: Medical billing companies are more skilled at documenting and processing claims than in-house staff. Their billing, coding, and processing are error-free and precise. This reduced the follow-up time and increases the cash flow.
Reduced office management: Healthcare billing services and solutions operate from their offices. They do not require a space in the clinic. They use cloud-computing software to document patient-profile and check their insurance eligibility. Thus, their absence means reduced office management and larger diagnostic space for therapies, surgeries, and the like.
Cons of outsourced medical billing:
Inability to control and monitor: Outsourcing medical billing services do not allow you to monitor the day-to-day operations. But, today cloud computing has allowed us to virtually track operations. Hence, this is no more a setback.
Inability to identify variable or hidden costs: Although outsourcing is considered cheaper you must be aware of the hidden costs. You may get ripped off as medical billing will have different needs. So, monitoring what is happening is important.
Risk in Security: One of the grave security concerns with outsourcing medical billing is patient profile. Patient’s information can be sensitive and needs to be handled with utmost care. A patient-data-breach agreement signed off between the doctor and the third party can help resolve the issue.
Reduced quality control: The outsourcing company will have a long clientele. It is also difficult to tell if your process is getting all the attention it requires. Again, cloud computing allows you to access updates, reports, and documentation virtually. Therefore, this is no more a setback!
Hire a Medical billing company
The debate on in-house and outsourced medical billing is long-standing. But, hiring a medical billing company in Los Angeles California will visibly help you boost your revenue. The work diversion can also lead to in-house staff satisfaction! Further, this satisfaction can be extended to the patients as well!