Not only can health care providers save money by outsourcing their billing, they realize better cash management through faster receivables. Another benefit of medical billing services is that practices save money by reducing or eliminating the need for in-house billing personnel along with related expenses such as benefits and training.
Medical Billing Services Offer More than Billing
Another reason health care providers are turning to medical billing services is that some offer a smorgasbord of related services that medical practices may not have the bandwidth to develop on their own. Some of these services include:
- Insurance eligibility verification
- Computer-based lab requisition forms
- Electronic prescription checking
- Automated phone reminders for patient appointments
- Patient check-in and co-pay kiosks
Medical Billing Services Offer Advantages to Practices of All Sizes
Most health care providers are still using paper-based systems for record keeping. One of the big advantages of using a medical billing service is that most can work with both paper and electronic systems. Some even offer software as a service to help smaller offices transition to electronic record keeping, referred to as Electronic Medical Records or Electronic Health Records.
Electronic record keeping is important for many reasons, both practical and professional. Electronic records take up less physical space--saving money on storage costs--are easier to file and retrieve, and less expensive to dispose of than paper records. Electronic records are generally more secure than paper records, helping practices comply with legislated privacy policies.
Financial Bonuses through Medical Billing Services
Perhaps the most compelling reason--especially for small, paper-based practices--to look for help from medical billing services is the HITECH Act (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act), part of the economic stimulus bill passed by the federal government in February 2009.
The HITECH Act has $19 billion of funding, $17 billion of which is earmarked for incentive payouts to health care providers whose practices and hospitals participate in Medicare and Medicaid and who use approved electronic health management systems. Since many medical billing services already use such systems, they are well positioned to help their clients quickly ramp up in order to be able to take advantage of the incentives. Incentives are most generous in the first of the five years of the incentive program, which begins in 2011. In fact, by 2015, there will be penalties for paper-only systems, so it behooves medical practices to get on board sooner rather than later.
The benefits of hiring medical billing services are not simply cost savings, but the opportunity to receive incentives for doing what will eventually be mandatory. Adding to that a net gain in time to devote to patients shows that there isnt a better time to act than now.
Sources
IMPAC Medical Systems
MTBC.com
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