The idea of outsourcing billing can spark a debate among most doctors and medical practitioners. They associate outsourcing with losing control over their proceedings, and lower quality of work due to loss of transparency and coordination between both the parties.
However, this may be true in rare cases, only when the practitioner invests and partners with a billing service provider who does not have the required level of credibility.
Therefore, outsourcing billing can be a wise choice to make if the practitioners and hospitals research well and find a service provider that can be trusted to work as conscientiously as your own staff. If you are able to find the right company to outsource to, then it will play a significant role in the development of your organization.
Here are five pointers that will help you choose the right medical billing service provider for your practice.
1. Industry Experience
Industry experience is, in general, the first criteria that any company looks for in its partner before investing or doing business with them. An established practice management software provider with a few years of experience will lend a professional and seasoned tone to their work. It is easier to trust them, as they comprehensively understand the current medical scenario, for they have been working through it for longer.
Take some time out, delve in to their previous triumphs as well as failures, and analyze their success rate. Take a note of their previous clients and try getting an overview of the work they do. This will give you an idea of the level of working efficiency to expect as well as their strongholds.
2. Safety and Support
Medical billing is a sensitive process, which requires handling data from the hospitals, or clinics, that are highly confidential, and financial and patient-specific details. To outsource these details to a billing service is a leap of faith, which should be taken only after a careful evaluation of the safety nets they provide.
The service should provide comprehensive client confidentiality, data security, disaster recovery and should have a backup data storage facility. The service provider must extend ongoing support and training to your staff.
3. Latest Technology and Coding Knowledge
The medical billing service you choose should include advanced software and hardware that incorporates regular updates immediately.
They should provide optional integration with other helpful applications like Electronic Health Records, for easier accessibility and recovery of data.
4. Pricing and Payments
Since one of the reasons for outsourcing is also to improve the profits of your organization, you should carefully reconsider if the cost of fees of the medical billing service provider exceeds your budget. These companies usually provide multiple types of pricing system options, which include percentage type, bulk payment type, pay-per-use model, etc.
5. Compliance
Mutual understanding and straightforward communication is a vital aspect to make any business relationship successful. You need to establish a point of contact with the company to keep a close track of the work that is going on. Check the accuracy of their reports, level of transparency maintained and compliance to legal aspects.
For more details on how you can improve your practice with a medical billing system, contact us.