Medical billing Outsourcing

[Dzkhs]

Can anyone provide me with reference for any clients who are interested to work with off-shore medical billing company. If so please let me know.

[Michele]

I almost deleted this but decided instead to respond:

I have no problem with people overseas trying to earn a living, but I am STRONGLY OPPOSED to off-shore medical billing.  So instead of deleting the post I'm going to explain why.

1.  HIPAA/HITECH compliance -  the risks of a security breach are much higher with an off-shore company.  Even if they sign a BAA, it is rarely successful that they are held accountable.

2.  Performance  -  "you get what you pay for", while some off shore employees may be knowledgeable I have to say that most of the off shore billers I have personally encountered are newbies and have no experience in medical billing.  Most companies hire and train in house and the workers are let loose with very little knowledge of American billing practices/rules/regulations. 

3.  Customer service  -  When patients call in they want to speak to someone that understands what they are asking, and can assist them with their issue.  In order to do that the person has to have a good grasp of the English language, as well as understand fully how medical offices and medical insurance works.  Again, based on personal experience I find that most of the off shore people I speak to are reading from a script and if you present them with any problem/situation that they don't have a script for, they are completely lost. 

4.  Accountability  -  who will be overseeing the off shore company to monitor for mistakes?  Things being done incorrectly?  Just overall monitoring?  So many providers don't like the thought of outsourcing to begin with due to losing control of their billing or not knowing what's going on.  With an off shore company this is magnified.

5.  Liability  -  In the end, the provider is responsible/liable for any mistakes made in their billing. PERIOD.  (Just wanted to emphasize the period.    )

There is more but I'm waiting for Linda to chime in.

Again, not against people overseas earning a living, but I am against it being in Medical Billing.  Just too many sensitive situations and Billing is too important of a job for the provider to take chances with.

Of course the off shore company will be cheaper but I guarantee the provider will pay more in the long run.


Articles to read:

https://newton-med.com/7-mistakes-to-avoid-when-you-outsource-medical-billing/

https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-turnarounds-ideas-to-improve-performance/5-risks-associated-with-overseas-asc-billing-and-coding.html

https://mbcsystems.com/medical-billing-outsourcing-doesnt-work/

[tallmanusa]

Michele, you have described very well the pitfalls of offshore outsourcing. I totally agree.

However the reality of our business is very sobering.
All of what you describe are trumped by one thing - price.
The providers are counting their nickels; most of the time their first and sometimes
the only question we are asked by a prospective client is " how much".
All medium and large companies have their delivery stations offshore. They pay the billers 80 cents per hour offshore; in USA they will have to pay at least 20 times that much.
Athena Health, E Clinical Works, MTBC are just some of the companies that charge 3% or less, and give out their software for free to boot.
How long do you think you will survive, with US wages you have to either pay or earn yourself?
Have you ever tried calling your bank, your telephone company or even Google? Guess where the telephone is being answered.
I would love to keep the jobs here, as an American, I just can't collect enough money from the Providers to make it a possibility.

That said, your ace in the hole is your customer service, there are still some providers who will pay for superior customer service, that they would not get offshore or a bigger company. But such paying  Providers are very small in numbers and they are dwindling fast, as they get more under pressure to make a profit.

[Michele]

Michele, you have described very well the pitfalls of offshore outsourcing. I totally agree.

However the reality of our business is very sobering.
All of what you describe are trumped by one thing - price.
The providers are counting their nickels; most of the time their first and sometimes
the only question we are asked by a prospective client is " how much".
All medium and large companies have their delivery stations offshore. They pay the billers 80 cents per hour offshore; in USA they will have to pay at least 20 times that much.
Athena Health, E Clinical Works, MTBC are just some of the companies that charge 3% or less, and give out their software for free to boot.
How long do you think you will survive, with US wages you have to either pay or earn yourself?
Have you ever tried calling your bank, your telephone company or even Google? Guess where the telephone is being answered.
I would love to keep the jobs here, as an American, I just can't collect enough money from the Providers to make it a possibility.

That said, your ace in the hole is your customer service, there are still some providers who will pay for superior customer service, that they would not get offshore or a bigger company. But such paying  Providers are very small in numbers and they are dwindling fast, as they get more under pressure to make a profit.

I agree that it's definitely a tough fight.  But I've been doing this 25 years and I'm not lacking for clients so there is still enough providers with common sense to know that they may pay a smaller bill but they will also have a lower amount that they receive.  There is no way that an off shore company paying $.80 an hour can do the job I do.  I guarantee any provider that my fee will be covered in the difference they bring in.  And quite honestly, I don't want the provider that thinks that paying 3% or less is the better option and is willing to take the risks.

But I do understand your points and can see why some people feel that it can't be fought.  But as for me, I will continue to provide the service I provide at the fee I provide it.  If I reach a point where providers won't continue to use me, then I will switch occupations.     Some days that would be ok with me.   

[cflorez]

I totally agree with Michele. I have been billing for more than 30 years. I have seen first hand what an offshore billing Company can do (negatively) for
a Provider. Because Providers are counting their nickles, they do ask those questions. How can get their billing done so much cheaper,  off shoring. But I address in detail in my presentation, addressing the same points Michele has brought up, and the provider understand the security of his Practice. I haven't seen a provider yet who has made that decision to go cheaper. I am also not lacking for Physicians. Sure, it is a big difference from calling my telephone company and getting information that's coming from over seas. But my health information is a different beast. I would not want my health information  being handled by people that are not held accountable. They are aware of the loopholes and do use them. 

[PMRNC]

All of what you describe are trumped by one thing - price.

You lost any chance of help or response from me with the above.

It saddens me to see offshore companies gobble up work but it totally enrages me to witness total ignorance and stupidity from US healthcare providers for foregoing all risks for sake of a few bucks.

[mandaree23]

I agree that it's not best to outsource overseas.  The quality of work is just not what it needs to be.  The money you might save by outsourcing you will end up losing to write-offs and such because the quality just is not there. 

[Markfox]

Hey All,

There are lots of advantage of outsourcing medical billing services
First of all it saves your time and the results are outstanding.
Reduces  employees expenses as you outsource the service.
Cash flow increases
Reduces Training cost.
Advanced technology are used by outsourced company that help in effective and accurate results.
There are many service provider. You can ask for demo and their previous client experience before handng over your projects to them.

I hope this helps. You may feel free for any further assistance.
Thanks,
Mark

[Michele]

Mark,

This post is more about outsourcing offshore.  There are a lot of good reasons to outsource, but we are discussing the downfalls of outsourcing offshore.  This forum is mostly made up of billers and billing services so trying to market is probably not going to get you very far. 

[PMRNC]

This Is why I NO longer will use the word outsourcing in my marketing materials. Offshore companies, and Associations like the AAPC have made the word Outsourcing a dirty word! Prime example with a few of the responses who overlooked the "offshore" part.
 

[Michele]

I removed the post Linda is referring to as it was strictly advertising and without permission.