I thought it would be a good idea to prepare a comparative analysis on the issue discussed, but left unattended in my last blog written on Medical Billing. Yes, it’s the conflict between an outsourced and an in-house medical billing service.
Providing quality care, reducing costs and increasing revenues for the practice are the primary concerns for any physician. This is the reason why choosing an appropriate billing service has always been a crucial issue for every practice or physician.
There are several pros and cons of in-house medical billing. Today, with the emerging concerns about security breaches, many practices prefer opting for an in-house billing service. The reason is simple; with the practice managing the billing operations and maintaining patient data itself, the probability of expected security breaches could be significantly reduced. Another important advantage of an in-house billing team is that the daily operations can be closely and easily monitored, which would ultimately result in more accountability and transparency. Moreover, any changes required during the billing process can be entertained instantaneously – thereby eliminating unwanted errors and unnecessary delays.
However, there is a darker side of the picture as well. According to recent surveys, in-house medical billing can result in increased expenditure for practices. Depending on the size of the practice, the provider would have to hire additional resources to perform the billing operations. On top of that, deploying additional technology in terms of both hardware and software would also contribute in adding up the overheads. This illustrates that in-house billing might not be as cost effective, and maintaining an optimum cost structure is obviously one of the major concerns of smaller practices.
Having said that, let’s consider the benefits or drawbacks of an outsourced medical billing service. Practices which are in favor of outsourcing medical billing proclaim that with a third party monitoring and managing billing operations, the chances of fraudulent or negligent instances can be significantly reduced as they have years of industry experience which makes it easier to identify discrepancies in financial reports, as compared to an in-house billing staff. Industry renowned billing companies are also known for providing their clients with comprehensive reports on a regular basis – helping them increase profitability.
