Medical billing and coding services are a necessary part of the revenue cycle in healthcare. A practice’s decision to handle these services in-house or outsource them depends on various factors, including the size of the practice and its available resources, specific needs, and budgets. Let’s compare in-house and outsourced medical billing and coding services.
Expertise and Efficiency in Medical Billing and Coding Services
When it comes to expertise and efficiency, in-house or outsourced teams have their respective advantages and considerations. An in-house team has the opportunity to develop specialized knowledge and expertise specific to the healthcare facility. However, when you have an in-house team, delays in the office can easily occur, whereas an outsourced company that specializes in billing and coding practices has dedicated processes in place.
An outsourced team like StarkBilling keeps current with the ever-changing industry, from insurance regulations to coding updates and payment methodologies. Between this and the dedicated processes that it has in place, a medical billing and coding company can better navigate the revenue cycle management process.
Cost Considerations of Having an In-House or Outsourced Medical Billing Team
The cost considerations of in-house and outsourced medical billing and coding services can vary based on several factors. Typically, with an in-office team, you have personnel costs of salaries, benefits, ongoing training, and potential turnover costs. Then you need to ensure that you have the office space to accommodate them, which means higher rent, utilities, equipment, and supplies, along with paying for the infrastructure of the software and technology necessary for medical coding, billing, and revenue cycle management. So, although it may seem more expensive to outsource, it’s actually more costly to hire, train, and regulate an in-house medical billing team.
Outsourcing your medical billing to StarkBilling eliminates those additional expenses. Your practice also avoids the costs of recruiting, hiring, and training dedicated billing and coding staff.
StarkBilling has its own billing software, IT infrastructure, and maintenance processes, eliminating the need for clients to invest in costly software licenses, hardware, and ongoing IT support. It’s all included when you hire the agency to handle your practice’s medical billing.
Keeping Current with Data Security and HIPAA Regulations in Medical Coding and Billing
Data security and compliance with HIPAA regulations are critical when it comes to medical coding and billing, no matter what team is doing it for your practice. Medical billing companies have the technology to ensure that patient health information is kept private and that all data is secured. An in-house team requires additional training, managing, and updating to ensure that all software is kept current. An outsourced team keeps up with any changes to HIPAA regulations and other necessary updates to data security. While educating your team on HIPAA and insurance regulations is essential, StarkBilling can greatly reduce the burden by advising your practice on applicable changes.
Scalability of Your Practice with an In-House or Outsourced Medical Billing and Coding Team
While it may not be in the near future, you’ll need to think about your business plan and where the practice is going or developing. Whether you want to gain more providers or grow into different specialties, you’ll likely need a bigger medical billing and coding team. If you do everything in-house, you’ll have to prepare to hire, train, and manage this bigger team.
Having an external outsourced team gives the practice more room to grow without the demand of hiring more medical billers. StarkBilling has the team to keep up with the demands of a scaling practice. It can quickly adapt to any changes, unlike an in-house team, where you will need to refocus your energy on hiring, training, and managing medical billers and coders.
Medical Billing and Coding Reporting for an In-House or Outsourced Team
Reporting is vital if you want to see where your practice currently is. With a detailed report, you can see the strengths and opportunities of the practice as a whole, which keeps the staff informed on the state of things. If you only have an in-house team, reporting may fall to the side due to roles shifting, lack of staff reporting knowledge, and general busyness. However, an experienced outsourced team like StarkBilling provides detailed reports so you are aware of exactly where your practice stands with the revenue cycle and what can be improved upon.
Reduced Administrative Burden When Your Practice Outsources Medical Billing and Coding Services
When you decide to outsource your practice’s medical billing, coding, and revenue cycle management to StarkBilling, you can step back from the administrative aspects and focus more on the patients. Outsourcing frees up additional time and resources to be allocated to improving patient care quality and big-picture thinking within the practice, like expanding services or adding healthcare providers.
Having your medical billing and coding team in-house or outsourced is a big decision. Be sure to take the time to think about what would work best for your practice. Outsourcing your medical billing to StarkBilling would give you more time to focus on your patients. Its team strives to provide superior medical billing and various value-added services to all clients.
Outsourcing your medical billing to StarkBilling helps with the time-consuming process of providing continuing education to staff in order to keep up with insurance and HIPAA regulations. Focus on your patients. Allow StarkBilling to focus on increasing your revenue.
