Should You Outsource Your Revenue Cycle?

Your revenue cycle is the backbone of your practice. Without prompt payment for medical claims, your practice may struggle to offer high-quality care to your patients. If your practice faces high rates of denied claims or late payments, you may want to outsource the entire or pieces of your revenue cycle. Here is what your practice should consider when deciding whether to outsource your revenue cycle.

How To Outsource Your Revenue Cycle

When you outsource your revenue cycle, you hire a healthcare company called a revenue cycle management company to handle your revenue cycle tasks for you. Revenue cycle management firms will scrub and submit claims, process payments and work denied and delayed claims. A revenue cycle management firm can handle all of the tasks of an internal billing department.

If your practice is considering outsourcing, start by contacting reputable revenue cycle management companies who are experts in your practice management system also. Outsourcing is a big commitment, so your practice should take time to assess your needs and the available companies before signing a contract. Look for companies that understand your practice’s unique needs and goals. Also, be sure to assess outsourcing contracts to ensure they specify data ownership and include incentives for the revenue cycle management company to collect on as many claims as possible. A service level agreement should be requested to ensure proper collection rates.

When Should You Outsource Your Revenue Cycle?

Small practices often benefit from outsourcing their revenue cycle. Small practices may not have enough claims to warrant a full-time medical billing specialist, making it difficult to develop an in-house revenue cycle management team. Unpredictable claims volumes can also make it difficult to manage staff and workloads.

Larger practices can also benefit from revenue cycle outsourcing in some circumstances. For example, if your practice struggles with high rates of claims denials, you may need professional support to correct your billing processes. Also, internal staff knowledge and attrition may become more difficult to continue to manage a successful revenue cycle management department. Outsourcing your revenue cycle can boost your payments, more than covering the cost of the revenue cycle management company. If your practice is considering outsourcing but wants to maintain control over your revenue cycle processes, co-sourcing is also an option.

Why Should You Outsource Your Revenue Cycle?

Revenue cycle management companies have deep expertise in coding, billing, and collections processes. When you outsource, you get access to expert medical billing specialists without having to hire or train them. Outsourcing can free your practice to focus on your primary mission – patient care.

Outsourcing your revenue cycle management can also increase net revenue. If your practice has high denial rates, significant A/R, or is frequently misses billing deadlines, outsourcing can significantly improve your finances. In general, revenue cycle management companies collect a higher volume of claims than in-house billing departments. This increased revenue can, for many practices, more than cover the cost of outsourcing.

Finally, outsourcing your revenue cycle management simplifies staffing and training needs. With outsourcing, you will not need to hire and train medical billing specialists. This is a big advantage for small practices. Coding and billing requirements change frequently. With outsourcing, your revenue cycle management company will keep on top of these changes. Your practice will no longer need to keep track of billing requirements for each of your payers and implement training programs to ensure all staff members are up-to-date.

How to Choose a Healthcare Consulting Company to Outsource Your Revenue Cycle

If your practice is ready to outsource your revenue cycle, you need to find the right revenue cycle management company. Outsourcing requires partnership and mutual trust. Your practice should look for a revenue cycle management company you are excited to work with long-term. Much like when hiring staff, look for a company that understands and can meet your practice’s unique needs and goals.  

Once you narrow down the list of candidate companies, the next step is to get quotes. Revenue cycle management companies get paid in two main ways. Under one option, the revenue cycle management company keeps a percentage of the claims its staff collect. This percentage-based option helps ensure the revenue cycle management company has incentives to collect on as many claims as possible. Under the second payment approach, your practice pays a flat fee for the revenue cycle services you need. Flat fee options are more predictable and can be cheaper as your practice grows. The best option for your practice will depend on your budget and your goals.

How TempDev Can Help You Outsource Your Revenue Cycle

TempDev’s TempBill can handle your revenue cycle needs. From temporary staff augmentation to revenue cycle outsourcing, TempBill has the expert staff to help your practice stay on track. TempDev’s consultants and developers can also help your practice customize your NextGen system to boost your revenue cycle.

If your practice is interested in outsourcing your revenue cycle, call TempBill today at 888.TEMP.DEV. Or, reach out to us here to get started boosting your revenue cycle.