Medical billing is an essential part of any healthcare facility. However, as the industry evolves, so does the complexity of healthcare billing codes and regulations. More so, new technologies and treatments develop over time, billing requirements and medical coding become time-consuming and complicated.
How should healthcare providers handle billing operations without compromising patient care?
Outsourcing medical billing can solve these challenges by caring for all medical billing matters.
Medical billing involves various tasks, including:
- Patient insurance coverage verification
- Correct billing codes identification
- Insurance claims submission
- Compliance with various federal and state regulations, including HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
The complexity of medical billing can be overwhelming for healthcare companies and can cause penalties and delays if not handled properly. With the expertise and experience of medical billing outsourcing companies on matters such as claim denials and revenue cycle in healthcare, these processes can be managed quickly and efficiently, improving the overall healthcare experience for patients.
Why Outsource Medical Billing?
Building your in-house medical billing team requires investing in tools and resources and maintaining and updating all medical billing processes. This route can be costly, time-consuming, and difficult to manage.
Outsourced medical billing services have a lot of benefits to offer. This is why healthcare providers prefer hiring a healthcare BPO: to take the heavy load off their operations and allow them to focus on healthcare solutions.
Here are more advantages of outsourced billing services:
 Cost savings |
Outsourcing medical billing can cut overhead and resource costs. With the outsourcing companies' tools, knowledge, and expertise, you won't need to invest in building the operation from scratch. In addition, it will save you from committing costly mistakes and penalties. |
 Efficiency |
Medical billing outsourcing providers are experts and are experienced in processing billing matters quickly and efficiently. This efficiency can also result in an improvement in cash flow. |
 Increased revenue |
A competent outsourcing medical billing company can improve a healthcare provider’s revenue by ensuring timely and accurate claims submission and payment. |
 Access to experts |
Keeping up with the changes in compliance and regulatory requirements is complicated. Medical billing outsourcing companies are focused on and up-to-date with the latest billing codes and regulations, helping your healthcare business navigate the complex billing landscape. |
 Focus on core business |
With experts handling billing processes, healthcare providers can be laser-focused on providing quality patient care. It would reduce the time and energy spent on billing operations, allowing more resources and efforts to be dedicated to the overall patient experience. |
 Increased data security |
Medical billing outsourcing companies follow stringent data security protocols, which help protect patient data. Therefore, healthcare providers are safeguarded from data breaches and other security threats. |
 Access to the latest tech |
Outsourced medical billing services have access to advanced software and other programs that can streamline billing operations and improve efficiency. By leveraging these tools, healthcare providers can improve their billing processes, resulting in increased revenue and cost savings. |
With these advantages, it is no surprise that many healthcare businesses outsource their billing operations. You must partner with the right medical billing outsourcing company to maximize these benefits.
How to Choose a Medical Billing Outsourcing Provider
Finding the right outsourcing company to partner with takes thorough deliberation and assessment. Here are some key factors to consider when selecting a medical billing outsourcing partner:
- Experience
- Look for a medical billing company with a proven track record of providing effective services in the healthcare industry. An experienced provider will assess your current billing processes and help you determine how to improve billing and maximize revenue. A reputable outsourcing company will have the knowledge and skills to integrate new software or hardware, train staff, and update policies and procedures.
- Compliance
- Choose a medical billing outsourcing partner who adheres to all regulations and maintains compliance procedures.
- Technology
- Your outsourcing partner should have the latest software to streamline billing operations and improve efficiency. They should partner with tech companies to continue updating and innovating their tools.
- Customization
- Each healthcare provider is unique. Look for a medical billing outsourcing partner that can customize its services to meet your specific requirements.
- Communication
- Choose a partner that provides regular updates and communicates clearly and promptly about any issues or changes to the billing process. Assessment and constant communication are necessary to ensure that all goals and objectives are aligned, and the medical billing process is effective.
Transitioning to a Third-Party Medical Biller: A Step-by-Step Guide
Deciding to outsource can initially be overwhelming. This short guide will help you understand what to prepare for when transitioning to outsourced medical billing.
1. Research potential partners
Start by researching potential medical billing outsourcing partners with experience in the healthcare industry, positive reviews from current or former clients, and the ability to meet your specific needs.
2. Request a proposal
After identifying potential partners, request a proposal from each. It should include details on the offered services, pricing, and timelines.
3. Review and compare
the proposals from each potential partner. Consider factors such as experience, technology, customization, and pricing.
4. Choose your partner
After reviewing the proposals, select the medical billing outsourcing partner that will give you the best value.
5. Sign a contract
Once you have chosen a partner, sign a contract outlining the scope of services, payment terms, and other relevant details.
6. Transitioning
After signing the contract, the outsourcing medical billing partner will begin transitioning your billing operations to their system. This may involve training your staff on new processes, integrating software or hardware, or transferring existing billing data to the partner's system.
7. Conduct regular assessments
Throughout the transitioning process, it is essential to maintain ongoing communication with your medical billing outsourcing partner. This includes regular reviews of billing performance, any changes to billing regulations or requirements, and milestones achieved.
With these steps, healthcare providers can successfully outsource their billing operations and create a collaborative partnership to promote better healthcare solutions.
Outsource Medical Billing with Us
Dubbed by the Everest Group as the World’s Fastest Business Process (Outsourcing) Service Provider in 2022 and highly rated in the Gartner Peer Insights Review, TaskUs is dedicated to providing world-class customer experience services. We specialize in improving healthcare solutions, including healthcare call center and medical billing services.
One of our clients, an American healthcare company that operates the first and only prescription drug price comparison platform and app, leveraged on a Champion-Challenger model, collaborating with two outsourcing providers in a competitive model to determine which vendor can deliver the best service and value.
TaskUs exceeded all the benchmark metrics of the Challenger:
| Challenger’s Pricing Limitations | Our Solutions |
|---|---|
| Constant training classes made it difficult for the Challenger to maintain a consistent AHT performance | Training staffing, content, and facilitationj were revamped to provide a more engaged training experience with enhanced skill building and retention check exercises |
| The -62 eNPS wof the Challenger and poor handling of the Client’s requirements led to high absenteeism and agent attrition | Our rates for absenteeism and attrition for this campaign are 1% and 31% respectively, which is almost half of the competitors |
| Our +70 eNPS rating is the result of our People-First Culture, coupled by our market wages and excellent experiential incentives. As a matter of fact, our compensation and benefits are 30% higher than the Challenger’s | |
| Absenteeism and attrition made it difficult for the Challenger to ramp up and meet their Service Level requirements. | While we manage the performance of our Teammates, we also applied Robotic Process Automation (RPA), mainly deploying BOTs to drive compliance with membership cancellation and fraud processes. We also deployed BOTs to automatically alert management to any missed calls or excessive Away time. |
90% Quality
vs. 87%
75%
Service Level
vs. 60%
7.5 min AHT
vs. 10.2 mins
60% Annualized Attrition
vs. 140%
99% CSAT
vs. 95%
