If you are a doctor or a practice manager, then you would have definitely faced this question: To outsource or not? The question of whether a healthcare practice should outsource medical billing operations to India is a tough question to answer. The right answer to this question varies from practice to practice and is based on a several factors, such as, the size of the local labor market, the state of the practice’s finances and the age of the business to name a few.
Whether it is billing, clinical services or revenue cycle management, your cash flow depends on them and hence the decision on outsourcing should not be taken lightly. Before you think about outsourcing, you must carry out a thorough assessment of your staffing, costs and volume metrics. This will help you determine what is right for you.
Read on to find out the pros and cons of outsourcing medical billing services:
The Pros
- Outsourcing is less expensive: If you are starting up a new healthcare clinic or if you are transitioning because of a staff member’s resignation, outsourcing is best financial decision that you can take. By outsourcing, you need not invest on hiring billing experts. You can also save on the cost of investing on expensive billing software, technology or infrastructure.
- Benefit from transparency: Your medical billing service provider will provide you with regular performance reports, either automatically or upon your request. This way of working will provide you with unparalleled visibility into your medical billing operations without you having to manage or oversee any of your staffers.
- Better consistency: By outsourcing, your service provider will be contractually obliged to carry out certain services for you, like appealing denials. You will also never have to worry about staffing, since it will be the job of your service provider to support your requirements all through the year.
Now, for the cons. Continue reading
