Hospitalist physicians are at the frontline of inpatient care in the evolving healthcare landscape. Yet, as they focus on delivering optimal medical attention, administrative tasks like billing and coding often become burdensome distractions. Outsourcing these non-core activities to a specialized revenue cycle management service allows hospitalists to free up valuable time and resources to provide better patient care. This blog post will explore the compelling benefits of partnering with a revenue cycle management company specializing in hospitalist physician billing and coding.
Heightened Focus on Patient Care
The most immediate benefit of outsourcing is the enhanced ability to focus solely on patient care. Hospitalist physicians can spend more time with their patients by transferring billing and coding tasks to external specialists. Instead of splitting their attention between medical care and administrative duties, they can prioritize bedside manners, diagnostics, and effective treatments.
Relevant Stats:
According to a study by The Physicians Foundation, 70% of physicians say administrative tasks negatively affect patient interaction.
Improved Accuracy and Compliance
Outsourcing to a dedicated revenue cycle management company brings another layer of accuracy and compliance to your billing processes. These companies have their finger on the pulse of coding updates, CMS changes, and compliance regulations. By maintaining an error-free and compliant billing system, hospitalists increase their reimbursement rates and mitigate risks associated with billing errors and legal complications.
Relevant Stats:
As reported by Change Healthcare, hospitals in the U.S. lose approximately $262 billion per year due to billing errors.
Cost-Efficiency
Outsourcing is often more cost-effective than maintaining an in-house billing department. Consider an in-house team's training costs, salaries, benefits, and overhead. On the other hand, a revenue cycle management service operates on scale and often provides more value for the money.
Relevant Stats:
On average, healthcare providers save about **30% to 40%** in operational costs when outsourcing billing and coding, according to a Black Book Market Research survey.
Enhanced Revenue Optimization
Revenue cycle management companies are specialists in maximizing revenue. With a team of seasoned billing experts, they can identify under-coded items, facilitate faster collections, and streamline the entire billing process. This optimized revenue stream can free up financial resources that hospitals can reinvest in patient care improvements.
Relevant Stats:
Healthcare Finance says providers outsourcing billing services see an average revenue increase of 5% to 15%.
Scalability and Flexibility
Lastly, outsourcing offers a degree of scalability and flexibility that takes work to match with an in-house team. As your practice grows, a specialized billing and coding service can quickly adapt to your expanding needs. Whether scaling up to accommodate new physicians or adjusting to coding changes, an outsourced service can adapt more swiftly.
Relevant Stats:
In a Becker's Hospital Review study, about 60% of healthcare providers mentioned scalability as a primary reason for outsourcing.
In summary, outsourcing hospitalist physician billing and coding to a dedicated revenue cycle management company can usher in many benefits. Not only does it improve billing accuracy and compliance, but it also brings cost efficiency, maximizes revenue, and offers unmatched scalability. Most importantly, it enables hospitalists to devote their full attention to what matters most — patient care. With these compelling advantages, it's clear why more and more healthcare providers are choosing to outsource their administrative tasks.
