Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/384013
T HE TREND AMONG physicians' practices is to move toward a greater reliance upon EHRs for more and more of their daily operations. In some cases, this includes the option of managing billing and reim- bursement services via EHRs. There is no question about the myriad benefits of EHRs for a small practice. But there are limitations to what an EHR system can provide physicians in terms of accurate, timely and responsible billing, when compared to outsourcing the process. The benefits of outsourcing billing processes for small practices include: 1. Customization: An EHR system is a software application; it does not understand how to customize claims to the specific payers from whom reimbursements are being sought. EHR claims are submitted in a uniform fashion and often lead to denials. This reduces reimbursement, a costly problem for a practice. Therefore, an outsourced billing service's experience with insurance companies will procure higher payments. 2. Utilization costs: If a practice has a slow month for bill- able work, the support costs for EHRs remain the same, while a billing company's expenses decrease accordingly. Third-party billing is based on a percentage of what is collected for a given month, creating an incentive to work harder to improve reimbursement totals and timing. Also, owning an EHR system means a practice retains all of its costs. A billing service distributes its expenses throughout its client base to provide clients with an economized cost structure. This often leads to a third-party biller operating at a lower price. 3. Personnel benefits: Outsourcing grants the practice access to a large, combined knowledge base of billing experts to aid in navigating the ever changing healthcare industry. This experienced team has only one purpose: to increase the profitability of the practice — because if the practice doesn't make money, the billing service doesn't make money. 4. Redundancies: In most practices, one person handles EHR billing. When this person is sick, goes on vacation or leaves abruptly, the billing process becomes stagnant. This common occurrence results in delayed and, often, denied payments due to timely filing limits. Third-party billing companies train multiple staff members to handle a client, so the practice will run seamlessly in these situations. 5. Regulatory and compliance facilitation: The healthcare industry is in a constant state of flux, and much of that change winds up affecting medical billing. Current Procedural Terminology codes are updated annually, fees schedules change, and insurance carrier rules are constantly being adjusted. Most practices don't have the time to continually re-educate their staff. When billing is outsourced, a practice avoids this headache and can rely upon the third-party biller to keep its billing procedures up-to-date. EHRs have their benefits, but there is doubt as to whether billing is one of them. For now, it is clear that physicians should outsource their billing to a third-party billing specialist. Timothy DiBona is the Business Director at Doctors' Management Service Inc. and President of Salus Resource Group. He has collaborated with hundreds of physicians over the past 25 years. He believes in trust-first relationships fueled by consistent communication. He can be reached at Tim@DoctorsManagementService.org. ■ By Timothy DiBona 5 REASONS WHY OUTSOURCING STILL BEATS EHRs FOR BILLING +++++++++++++++ +++ + +++ + +++++++++++++++ FINANCE M D N E W S . CO M ■ MD NEWS Greater Boston | 1 3