When you first opened your laboratory, it probably made sense to handle the medical billing in-office. As a small business, you were able to provide excellent service to your healthcare providers and patients while still handling this task. Now that your practice is growing, with new providers and patients bringing on additional concerns, the last thing you want to deal with after a long day is managing billing concerns.

If you have ever wondered whether you should outsource your medical billing, this article will highlight all the reasons why you should and the advantages it provides from a financial and operational standpoint. Use it to determine if now is the right time to outsource medical billing in your practice.

What Are Outsourced Medical Billing Services?

Before we get into the specifics, let’s talk about what outsourcing medical billing services look like.  When you outsource your medical billing, you allow a third party to code and bill your patients. If you entrust your information to a medical billing company, their staff of professionals will find a comprehensive and efficient way to process your coding and billing so you can focus on improving other aspects of your laboratory.

If you choose Innovative Lab Solutions (ILS) to handle your billing needs, you will have access to services that are tailored to help your business prosper. We assist each of our clients in improving cash collections and boosting their bottom line.

Our detailed reporting analysis also enhances financial accuracy and compliant revenue management to ensure efficient reimbursement. Moreover, our billing services are provided by industry experts.

Differences Between In-House vs. Outsourced Laboratory Billing

The most obvious difference between in-house and outsourced medical billing is the billing location. In-house billing staff is located within the medical laboratory, whereas outsourcing medical billing is handled by an off-site third party. Here are more examples of how both differ:.

Reduction in Medical Billing Errors

In-house teams in medical laboratories with staff doing the job of multiple workers have a greater potential to make costly errors in medical billing and coding that could impact insurance reimbursements. Whereas, our laboratory billing services are provided by experts who are focused on your business and have the time to carefully process your billing.

Control Over the Medical Billing Process

With an in-house medical billing team, a laboratory is in total control of the billing process which can be perceived as more advantageous. But by outsourcing your medical billing, your practice’s resources can then be refocused to providing care to clients instead of managing medical billing. When selecting a medical billing outsourcing company, do keep in mind that it is important to select a reputable one since there is a great deal of trust involved.

Extensive Medical Billing Expertise

While your laboratory’s billing staff may have plenty of qualifying experience, outsourcing removes many of the stressors associated with the process. In addition to being solely concerned with your billing, medical billing outsourcing companies are aware of any changes to the regulatory environment and how that might impact your practice. By ensuring compliance, you will have the most accurate processing possible in your laboratory.

Why You Should Outsource Your Laboratory Medical Billing

Medical billing outsourcing may not be right for everyone, but it does provide a much more controlled and sustainable approach to revenue cycle management (RCM). In thriving or expanding laboratories, outsourcing’s true value lies in its long-term sustainability. Over time, an outsourced medical billing firm can typically maintain better consistency (and control) of a medical laboratory’s finances than an overburdened internal team. As a matter of fact, outsourcing medical billing can have many benefits across your practice. 

You should consider outsourcing medical billing to your medical practice for various reasons, including:

Faster Insurance Payments

By minimizing billing errors, reimbursements and payments can be received faster. Using a medical billing outsourcing company can streamline workflows, increase revenue, and improve earning potential for your laboratory, which clears the way for payment to come through much more quickly and efficiently.

Reduced Costs

There can be a lot of hidden costs associated with maintaining an in-house medical billing system. Medical billing outsourcing reduces or eliminates a number of overhead expenses, such as training costs, benefits, insurance, and payroll to hardware/software installation costs. 

Unfortunately, many practices do not have the disposable income or the time to maintain a complete billing department and find a replacement anytime an employee leaves. With the help of a medical billing company, you can benefit from a more controlled and sustainable approach to revenue cycle management.

Enhanced Transparency

In addition to providing you with comprehensive performance reports, medical billing outsourcing companies will keep you informed of payment delays and issues better than your own staff. This allows you to maintain control over RCM without having to micromanage—or even oversee—any billing personnel.

Ensured Compliance

Medical billing can be extremely challenging to keep up with because healthcare regulations change on a regular basis. New Medicare, Medicaid, and third-party payer protocols are always being updated.

We can’t predict what changes will take place, but we can predict that standards will change. It takes a qualified expert to stay on top of the latest information as it emerges in order to properly follow each changing protocol.

A medical billing outsourcing service has to keep up with changes like these on a regular basis. It ensures they submit clean claims and that the practices they partner with stay compliant.

Better Patient Satisfaction

It’s hard to meet all your clients’ expectations when trying to juggle everything on your laboratory’s plate. Managing scheduling tasks, executing sample testings, keeping records, and handling clinical concerns are always going to fall to your staff.

When you outsource medical billing, you take something off your team’s plate—something that can usually be better managed by another group. As a result, your staff will have more time to focus on clients’ needs, resulting in higher satisfaction rates and patient retention.

Scale Up Your Business With Innovative Lab Solutions

Innovative Lab Solutions offers a comprehensive range of full-service billing options to help labs meet their financial and billing goals. We handle the entire billing process so our clients can focus on tasks that are crucial to their success. Improve your bottom line today with full-service billing solutions from the experts at ILS. Contact us for more information.