Outsourced Medical Billing or In-House Medical Billing, which approach is better? – a Mega Debate
Arbitrator:
Today, contestants compare in-house vs outsourced billing on staff efficiency and cost efficiency.
Let’s take starting statements from our contestants.
https://webinarcare.com/best-medical-billing-software/medical-billing-statistics
Mr Napolean
I would start by stating that:
“Medical billing outsourcing market: $11.1B in 2021, 12% CAGR to 2030.”
Practices outsource billing due to tech demands, patient consumerism, and evolving CMS regulations.
Staff feels threatened by complex software and extra tasks. Doctors and staff should focus on patient care, not tech and regulations.
https://www.vocalcom.com/blog/top-threats-facing-your-contact-center
Ms Gretchen
Businesses outsourced to call centers but found internal teams best represent their brand. In 2019, 53% of companies reverted from outsourced call centers to internal teams.
Trained staff use tech to streamline tasks, reducing outsourcing needs.
Keeping the operations in-house definitely helps you maintain better patient relationships. The staff knows patients best, providing excellent advocacy for every practice.
Arbitrator:
Both agree good technology helps practices meet financial goals, whether in-house & outsourced billing.
Now let’s talk about Patient Consumerism.
Mr Napolean
Patients expect doctors to treat them as customers of their care service. They pay and thus they want to be given super treatment. They expect less wait time, extra care time and clear communication w.r.t their diagnosis and their bills. This keeps my staff on their toes, as along with giving care service they take care of patient’s excess demands. It isn’t fair to make them spend time and energy over patient’s claim management process as well.
Nightmare: hours on phone with insurers fixing patient claim errors. In a study it was reported that doctors spend, on average, 2 hours daily on calls to clear patient claim queries.
Outsourcing was a saving grace here. Saved 4 hours daily on claims; now, the staff focuses on patient care.
Ms Gretchen
Patients need attention, but can a third party handle queries confidently? Will your billing advocate be able to manage your Medical Practice’s sensitivities?
In-house billing provides immediate patient answers without overburdening staff. Staff isn't overworked, ensuring clear communication between doctors and patients.
Top medical billing software boosts practice productivity by 35%.
Efficient billing tech allows staff to meet patient demands.
Billing software features streamline patient scheduling, reducing wait times. Patients access diagnoses and statements via online profiles.
Billing software's communication portal reduces calls to insurers. My staff never spends more than a few minutes on queries. Data retraction and correction is so easy that it doesn’t seem like an added task.
Mr Napolean
Ok so a good Medical Billing Software might be a solution but what about cost associated to it. Buying billing software requires purchasing, training staff, and paying for upgrades. Add to it the changing regulations, the CMS edits and technology advancement. It exhausts my practice’s account.
Outsourcing is simple - pay a fee, and the billing company handles it all. It saves me cost i.e., installation costs, training costs, upgradation costs.
Outsourcing billing can cut practice expenses by 30%.
Ms Gretchen
The debate has facts, but the popular choice may not be best long-term.
Business world runs on data, by outsourcing you lose your socio-clinical capital. If a claim has an error, insurers call your practice or a third party. If insurers call the third party, your staff may still get involved as they enter patient data.
In-house billing has one-time costs, but the competitive edge makes it worthwhile.
Got good billing software with free training and support. The software is user-friendly, & upgradation doesn’t require the staff to be retrained. A dedicated billing team ensures a smooth process. Billing software updates itself using AI for new regulations.
In-house billing increased profits by 61% in 2 years, showing it's the future.
Arbitrator:
This is interesting; the same point is again highlighted in the debate. A good Medical Billing Software leads to an efficient Medical Billing process. However, practice size matters when doing in-house billing
It might be so, but a third approach to the Medical Billing process is coming to the surface.
Stay tuned for the final day to learn which is better - in-house or outsourced medical billing.
AltuMED is a Medical Billing Service and Solution Company that understands the importance of prompt, systematic Medical Billing Performance Analysis. Why not contact us for a complimentary analysis that can help us understand the reason for increase in your AR rate?
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