Like anything, technology has changed the way we live including the way we do business with each other. Informational knowledge has become a commodity because of accessible data via search engines like google and business practices have become transparent while communication levels take various forms through email, chat, and social media channels. The modern day medical billing company is no exception.
Ten or more years ago, outsourced medical billing companies seemed more like a distant facility with lots of paper processes, call center like activities, and manual labor. Certainly the industry has become more electronic and computer/software driven and a medical billing “facility” now looks like any other professional office environment…well credible one’s at least.
So how do we perceive “modern” outsourced medical billing companies? Modern outsourced medical billing companies feel a lot LESS like outsourcing. Cloud based software programs and VPN level access offer your practice the same (or more) transparency as any in-house on site billing department. Need to check your bank account? Login into your bank and see all your transactions and balances. Similar to your personal finances, need to see last month’s collection or run a CPT’s analysis? Login to your software or cloud and pull any report on demand. Even better, decide the important reports and setup alerts and have them automatically delivered to your mobile phone.
Today’s modern billing services would probably describe themselves as reimbursement or revenue managers rather than just billing. While the process of billing still exists in an electronic format, there are many functions outside that affect reimbursement such as contract management, patient retention, pay for performance programs, etc. More sophisticated medical billing services apply analytics to simply complex data to enhance processes and maximize reimbursement.
Outsourcing your billing requires research like choosing any service, however if outsourcing was not an option, take a look and you’ll be surprised with the advantages of today’s modern services.
