It will no longer be necessary to ensure that your staff is "up to date" on all of the medical billing standards, thus allowing you to save money by eliminating the need to send your employees to countless seminars. Additionally, you will save a significant amount of money when you're no longer forced to purchase costly computer equipment and/or software updates - you will even save money on office expenses, such as phone charges, postage fees and copy paper.

Quite possibly one of the most beneficial factors involved in the decision to eliminate your in-house medical billing is the increased time and effort your staff will be able to put toward patient care. You may even cut expenses on employee wages and benefits, and at the same time enjoy the advantages gained from additional space within your office that will very likely become available.

It has been reported that medical practices hiring competent and professional outside medical billing companies have gained the assurance that their receivables are getting the attention they deserve. Your A/R will receive full-time, professional attention, and absolutely no delay or interruption in cash flow due to vacation time and absenteeism.

Submission of electronic claims is also beneficial, since payments are typically received as soon as 10 days after submission. This has resulted in many practices witnessing a significant increase in their turnaround time and receivables.

Also, most professional and competent medical billing companies encourage their clients to decide just how much or how little they do for you. You may request that the company with which you contract simply submit your claims, submit claims and work rejections, or offer you full practice management. Full practice management entails claim submission, as well as submission of all secondary and tertiary claims, posting of all payments, work rejections, necessary tasks to clear up old A/R reports, and weekly/monthly reports. Additionally, under a full practice management contract, medical billing companies send patient statements and handle patient billing calls.

Many medical billing companies also offer such services as credentialing with insurance companies, thus saving their clients hours of paper work processing. The company you decide to hire may also provide you the valuable service of performing the evaluation of reimbursement rates and advise you of the highest appropriate fee schedule, as well as supply your office with a customized super-bill (i.e., router, flow sheet).

In summary, hiring a professional medical billing service for your practice is extremely beneficial, and certainly an option you should consider. Prior to doing so, however, it's important to talk with at least three billing companies to ensure that the service with which you contract is reliable, competent and professional so that your practice sees the best results possible. I wish you the best for your practice's success.