Billing and collections once embraced a do-it-yourself ethic, but these days, more and more hospitals, clinics, medical centers and private practices are making the decision to outsource receivables management. A new study by BlackBook Research found "overwhelming support" for outsourcing these tasks to third-party service providers, according to Healthcare Finance News.
"According to the survey, 83 percent of hospitals now outsource some accounts receivable and collections, 58 percent of hospitals outsource some contract management, 55 percent of hospitals outsource some denials management and 68 percent of physician groups with more than 10 practitioners now outsource some combination of collections and claims management," writes Chris Nerney in his breakdown of the study.
The growth in this trend is largely due to shifting reimbursement models, according to some experts. The rising cost of health care is also a concern, as certain billing and collections procedures become more protracted and challenging for individual administrators to handle. Unburdening those professionals of small-time claims can allow them to focus on high-priority cases. As backlogs grow, this becomes harder for administrators in facilities where no outsourcing strategy has been implemented.
As the adoption of outsourcing becomes more popular, doing it yourself has fallen in favor. More decision makers are seeing the benefits of contracting a solutions provider to help collect on outstanding payments.
As the standards and practices of accounts receivable evolve, care facilities need the bandwidth to bridge changes with thorough attention. One of the best ways to relieve administrators of their overwhelming caseloads is to outsource receivables management. Contact Professional Medical Services today to learn more about how our solutions can help your health care organization.
