Last Updated on September 13, 2023
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.
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 spent 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 revenue after expenses are paid out. In that case, you’re spending roughly $150K per year just paying employees’ salaries (not counting any benefits they receive). That’s money that could be better spent elsewhere!
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 level of 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, expenses can range from $100 to $1,000 per month. As the number of employees increases (and therefore 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, means doctors are outsourcing medical billing to virtual assistants.
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 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).
Virtual assistants are excellent for outsourcing medical billing
When it comes to 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, which means 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.
Outsourcing medical billing to a VA can save you time and money
Outsourcing your medical billing is a great way to save time and money. However, it’s crucial to manage the risks involved with outsourcing. For example, if you’re outsourcing through virtual assistants (VAs), they may be able to do the work faster than an in-house employee; however, they will also cost more per hour worked than an employee would. If you need help managing these risks while saving time and money, check out our guide on how outsourced medical billing can help your practice!
The bottom line about outsourcing medical billing to a virtual assistant
I hope that you’ve learned a lot about the benefits of medical billing outsourcing. This is a great way to save time and money, but it does come with risks. You can manage those risks by hiring virtual assistants from reputable companies like us here at Aristo Sourcing!
We look forward to working with your practice today.
