Over the last several years, health care providers such as physician offices, clinics and hospitals have seen a dramatic increase in costs to run their facilities. The new HIPA regulations and the much anticipated “Obamacare” will continue to raise costs in the coming years while reducing reimbursement payments for services rendered. These changes will make it even more critical to find ways to reduce costs and maintain a high quality of service to patients.

A Practice Management and Healthcare Billing Supplier with expertise and technology may be a solution. One client yielded over 25% in cost savings and improved patient relationships, for instance. The process entailed having the physician fill out surveys and questionnaires with information on the patient and insurance mix. This process was an eye-opener to the physician because he had no idea that he was not being reimbursed at the correct rates, collections were at an all-time low, and his receivables were unmanageable.  

Here are the reasons you should consider outsourcing your Practice Management and Healthcare Billing, broken down into two major segments:

I. Increased Cash Flow

• Expedited payments
• Shorter revenue cycle
• Reduced in-house staff expenses
• Financial checks and balances
• Electronic payments
• Track ability of collection accounts
• Experienced coders-higher reimbursements
• Leveraged buys

II. Customer Service

• Electronic health records
• Better scheduling
• Ease of reports

When selecting a Practice Management/Billing Supplier, you have many factors to consider, including the costs of converting data, custom programming, and training. Here are some more factors:

• It is critical that the supplier has the knowledge of your individual State, Insurance, and Federal regulations and procedures.
• The supplier must stay up-to-date on the many changes occurring and be an expert in your specialty.
• Support services must match your needs; for example, a 24-hour help desk is preferred if you are a 24-hour hospital or clinic.
• Other considerations could include: Off-site server back-up systems, length of time in business, type of training billing coders receive, and references from other facilities utilizing the system who can confirm the ease of use.  

In addition to the cost savings benefits of a Practice Management and Healthcare Billing focus, physicians and hospitals can minimize day-to-day administrative and management tasks and devote more time to patient care.