Outsourcing Medical Billing – Make Your Practice More Effective

Could outsourcing medical billing be the solution to reduce your expenses? Medical billing is a time-consuming, expensive, and laborious task. The average physician spends several hours weekly on medical billing tasks, including entering information into an electronic medical record (EMR)  system and managing patient insurance accounts.

Medical practices include private medical practices, private dentists, group practices, employed physician practices, independent contractors, and locum tenens practices. Often hire someone on staff to do this work, but that person needs to be paid even if they aren’t working due to the nature of their job. In fact, according to Medical Billing Pulse survey data from 2022, the average cost of hiring a full-time employee, such as a Medical Billing Specialist in the U.S.A., for medical billing was typically between $20 and $23 (plus additional benefits). According to another survey by Medical Billing 101, physicians can spend around 25% of their gross revenue on administrative costs (including office rent/mortgage interest payments down to cleaning supplies). Suppose your practice makes $1M annually in net income after paying out expenses. In that case, you’re spending roughly $150K annually just paying employees’ salaries (not counting any benefits they receive). That’s money that could be better spent elsewhere!

What Is Medical Billing Outsourcing?

Medical billing outsourcing is a practice in the healthcare industry where healthcare providers, such as hospitals or medical practices, delegate the responsibility of generating and managing patient billing, insurance claims, and payment collection to third-party companies or specialized service providers such as virtual medical assistants.

This outsourcing allows healthcare organizations to streamline their revenue cycle management, reduce administrative burdens, and ensure accurate and timely medical claims processing, ultimately improving their financial efficiency and allowing them to focus on patient care.

Why Outsource Your Medical Billing

Why Outsource Medical Billing?

Medical Billing Is Time-Consuming

Medical billing can be the most time-consuming part of running a practice. While many doctors are skilled in medicine and patient care, they may not have the same expertise in collecting money for their services.

Medical billing is not just about stashing money; it’s also about managing accounts receivables and keeping up with industry regulations so that you can continue doing business with insurance companies (or whomever your patients pay).

If you’re looking for ways to make your practice more effective by outsourcing some of its less critical functions (like medical billing), read on!

Medical Billing Is Expensive

Medical billing is a complex process that can be costly to your practice. There are several factors to consider when deciding whether or not outsourcing medical billing is right for you, including:

  • The cost of hiring an employee who will take on the task full-time.
  • The amount of time required to manage the business side of your practice in addition to seeing patients and performing procedures.
  • The amount of money lost when patients pay their co-pays late or at all (which happens more often than most people realize).

How Much Does Medical Billing Cost?

Medical billing costs depend on many factors, including the size of your practice and whether or not you have employees. For a small practice with one or two doctors, monthly expenses can range from $100 to $1,000. As the number of employees increases (and workload), so does the cost. Additionally, if your practice is highly complex – for example, if it offers multiple services like hospital care or surgery – this will also drive up prices due to increased complexity in processing claims and filing forms with insurance companies. It is with that that doctors are outsourcing medical billing to medical VAs

Outsourcing Is Cheaper Than Hiring a Staff Member to Do It

Outsourcing medical billing to a virtual medical assistant is a great way to save money and time. It’s cheaper than hiring an onsite staff member; you don’t have to worry about training or dealing with their mistakes.

Outsourcing also saves you from dealing with the stress of keeping up with all the paperwork. You’ll be able to focus on treating patients instead of spending hours entering information into computers and ensuring everything is correct before submitting it for processing by insurance companies or Medicare or Medicaid programs.

Outsourcing Medical Billing

Benefits of Outsourcing Medical Billing

More than saving time and money, outsourcing medical billing offers benefits such as:

  • enhanced accuracy in claims processing
  • reduced billing errors
  • compliance with evolving healthcare regulations
  • increased revenue through improved claims management
  • access to specialized expertise
  • the ability to adapt to industry changes and technology advancements more efficiently.

Risks of Outsourcing Medical Billing

Outsourcing carries risks, but there are ways to manage the risks. Outsourcing medical billing is not for everyone. If you’re not prepared and willing to manage the risks, it could lead to problems in your practice that would be difficult and expensive to fix. But if you’re ready for outsourcing, there are ways to manage those risks.

Here Are Some Tips for Managing Your Risk 

Make sure that your new billing service has experience with practices like yours. It would help if you had someone who understands what’s essential for your office – and what isn’t -so they can help you avoid mistakes and get things done efficiently.

Don’t just rely on references from other doctors; ask them about their experiences with this company before signing on with them! You don’t want surprises later on down the road when something goes wrong (which it probably will).

Outsourcing Medical Billing To A Va

How Outsourcing Medical Billing Can Make Your Practice More Effective

Improved Accuracy

Outsourcing medical billing can significantly enhance accuracy in claims processing. Specialized billing professionals possess in-depth knowledge of complex billing codes and regulations, reducing errors and claim denials. Their expertise ensures that claims are submitted correctly, leading to a higher rate of approval and timely reimbursements.

Reduced Costs

One of the key advantages of outsourcing medical billing is the reduction in costs. Your practice can achieve substantial cost savings by eliminating the need for an in-house billing department and associated overhead expenses like salaries, benefits, and training. This cost-effective approach allows you to allocate resources more efficiently, which can be reinvested into improving patient care or other critical areas of your practice.

Increased Efficiency

Outsourcing medical billing streamlines the revenue cycle, leading to increased efficiency. External billing experts can process claims more swiftly, reducing payment turnaround time. This improved efficiency boosts your practice’s cash flow and minimizes the administrative burden on your staff, allowing them to focus on more value-added tasks.

More Time to Focus on Patient Care

Outsourcing medical billing gives your practice more time to concentrate on patient care. With billing responsibilities delegated to experts, your medical staff can allocate their time and energy to providing quality healthcare services, improving the overall patient experience, and enhancing patient outcomes. This increased focus on patient care can contribute to higher patient satisfaction and retention rates.

Better Compliance

Outsourcing medical billing helps ensure better compliance with the ever-evolving healthcare regulations. Billing professionals are well-versed in the latest industry standards and coding requirements, reducing the risk of non-compliance penalties and legal issues for your practice. This mitigates potential financial and legal risks and enhances the reputation and trustworthiness of your practice in the healthcare industry.

Virtual Assistants Are Excellent for Outsourcing Medical Billing

When outsourcing medical billing, you can hire virtual assistants to complete this task effectively. This is an excellent option if you’re looking to save money but still want to make sure your practice runs smoothly. Virtual assistants are also great for outsourcing medical billing because they’re so flexible: they can work from anywhere in the world, so you don’t have to worry about hiring someone who lives in another city or state and then having them commute every day.

If cost isn’t your biggest concern, consider hiring a full-time employee instead of outsourcing medical billing services. Full-time employees tend to be more knowledgeable about specific processes like coding bills correctly and filing claims with insurance companies on time (which makes them more efficient). They also have experience working in healthcare settings like yours – meaning they’ll know exactly what needs doing right away versus something that could wait until later in the day when it doesn’t impact patient care as much.

The Bottom Line: Outsourcing Medical Billing

Outsourcing medical billing offers significant time and cost-saving advantages. Yet, it is essential to address associated risks, such as the higher hourly cost of virtual assistants (VAs) compared to in-house employees, despite their faster work pace. To effectively manage these risks while optimizing your practice’s efficiency and financials, explore our comprehensive guide on the benefits of outsourced medical billing. At Aristo Sourcing, we provide reputable VA services to help your practice navigate this path. We anticipate the opportunity to collaborate with your practice.

The Ultimate Outsourcing Guide:

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