Explore 5 Signs to Outsource Medical Coding
As a healthcare provider, you want to spend your increasingly limited value-added time and energy practicing medicine as opposed to non-value-added administrative tasks. So what can you do to focus more on your patients and less on the business side of running your practice or organization?
One thing you can consider is outsourcing your medical coding. Delegating this task to an outside company can be a daunting thought to some providers. But, it can make good business sense. The outsourcing firm can assume and manage the day-to-day tasks involved in medical coding so you can better focus on running your organization.
Of course, outsourcing your medical coding tasks may not be right for every organization. So let’s explore the five signs that it’s time for you to consider outsourcing your medical coding.
Coding Backlogs
If you’re seeing revenue cycle delays or backlogs, your coding process may be the cause. Outsourcing your coding to well-trained medical coders can decrease the number of rejected claims and decrease the time it takes to receive payment from a payer.
The business of coding has become more complex than tax filing. How many practices try to handle their own taxes? So why do practitioners and their limited staff continue to expect to handle their own coding process?
Staffing Challenges
Good coders are not easy to find. Are you struggling with high attrition rates or an inability to attract and retain experienced, high quality medical coders? This can make the coding process inefficient as well as increase your recruitment and training overhead.
In addition, turnover among your coding team will inevitably lead to a slowdown in the processing of claims. However, working with a medical coding outsourcing firm can bring coding talent to your organization that you otherwise may not be able to find.
Difficulty in Adapting to New Coding Changes
Coding can only be as accurate as the knowledge and understanding of your staff. Codes are continually added, deleted, bundled, unbundled, or modified in other ways. The transition to ICD-10 last fall led to the learning of new diagnosis and procedure codes. The time and cost associated with adequate education and continual training for your coding staff can be exorbitant. If your current team is still not well-equipped to deal with these new codes, it may be yet another sign that outsourcing is right for you.
Growing Complexity of Medical Coding
Medical coding can be complex and there is regulatory pressure to keep things on track. If your team is unable to keep pace with current codes, your reimbursements can simply go off the rails. Practitioners who do not have a business background may not want to worry about the complex and administrative side of the business and, as such, can benefit largely by outsourcing the coding process.
The skill and investment necessary to stay current and competent has become akin to hiring a CPA or selecting a medical specialist. After all, this is your revenue stream. Hire an outsourcing firm that can handle all of your coding tasks so you can focus more on the delivery of care.
Patient Complaints
There is nothing worse than taking a wonderful clinical experience and ending it with a bad billing experience because of coding errors. Use an outside firm as your backstop to save this patient experience and keep them as a return customer. This is your bread and butter—don’t lose it!
With an abundance of highly qualified offshore medical coders, outsourcing your medical coding is a solution that fits the needs of large hospital groups, standalone hospitals, large and small physician groups, and other healthcare organizations. As you are stretched to make the most of every dollar you spend, offshoring can help you remain competitive without having any impact on patient care. It can result in zero coding backlogs, guaranteed quality, reduced cost, and no worries about coding resources or shortage-driven cost increases.
Learn more about how Ovation Revenue Cycle Services can help with your medical coding needs. Visit www.ovationrcs.com.
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