Many practices still have a polarized view of in-sourcing versus outsourcing, not realizing that the optimal solution may lie somewhere in between. Insourcing, the traditional model, occurs when the practice hires its own staff to perform all its functions, both medical and administrative. This model’s origin predates the current complexity of the healthcare system, with accelerating changes and increasing regulatory and reporting requirements. With the growth of multiple health plans, with multiple sets of rules, outsourcing became a new way to move all or some functions such as charge entry, coding, billing, payment posting, and claims follow up external to the practice. In many cases, efficiencies can be gained and overhead costs reduced. However, the loss of control over something as critical as cash flow rightly causes many practice leaders to pause, or dismiss this option.
While “insourcing” and “outsourcing” are familiar terms to most, some practices still don’t know about the latest “hybrid” billing arrangements. Thanks to hybrid billing companies, which act as an extension of the medical practice, somewhere between in-house staff and outsourcing, the savings and efficiencies of outsourcing can be obtained while still retaining the control and communication that are typically found with insourcing. Hybrid models enable the practice to focus on its core business, functioning as an extension of the practice. The non-clinical distractions, such as billing and collections, are removed from the immediate practice workspace, but are closer at hand than in purely outsourced arrangements. The specialized staff offered by hybrid companies often remote into the practice’s system to perform their functions, allowing transparency. The practice retains control and has better visibility into its billing partner’s performance. In hybrid models, the practice’s work flows are preserved, which creates a more productive scenario than with pure outsourcing companies, who often try to fit very different specialties into the same mold.
