One of the most important things that an urgent care center needs to consider is whether to outsource their billing or take care of it in-house. While in-house medical billing does give a practice more control over their billing practices, many urgent care clinics find that it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
As strange as it may sound, it’s in your best interest to outsource your urgent care clinic’s medical billing to a third party. Here are just a few reasons why.
Consistent Billing
Unpaid or denied claims are common for any medical practice. These can cause a major headache for obvious reasons, not the least of which is the time and effort it takes to address these claims. A medical billing company is contractually obligated to follow up on these claims, which takes most of the stress away from the urgent care clinic itself.
Having a third party handle all billing claims also means that all bills will be sent out on time and at a regular basis. Clinics that handle their billing claims in-house can easily fall behind on their bills and claims if they have a heavy workload. Medical billing companies focus exclusively on billing patients and sending claims to insurance companies, which means they don’t have to worry about treating patients or taking care of any other responsibilities that could cause them to fall behind on their work.
Transparency
Medical billing companies also submit performance reports to a provider upon request. These reports provide transparency and allow a clinic to know exactly where it stands financially. This also allows an urgent care clinic to evaluate the services of the billing company itself.
Lower Costs
While it can be difficult for urgent care clinics to budget for medical billing companies, outsourcing medical billing can still lead to lower costs for clinics. An urgent care clinic that handles all of its billing in-house simply has a higher overhead. A billing department needs to be created, which means having to hire more employees and paying more in hourly wages and other benefits. There’s also the matter of creating a billing system, which can eat into the clinic’s budget even further. On the other hand, outsourcing work to a medical billing company allows an urgent care clinic to bypass all of this and simply focusing on other matters.
Education
The experience provided by a medical billing company is unparalleled. Since medical billing is at the forefront of the business, medical billing companies have lots of experience in this field. In addition, they are well versed in all the rules and regulation of medical billing. This minimizes room for mistakes and allows practices to feel confident in the ethics and experience of the medical billing company.
Better Service
Finally, outsourcing billing and claims to a third party allows an urgent care clinic to provide better service to its patients. Doctors and other medical professionals don’t have to worry about processing claims and sending out bills, so they can focus on providing high-quality treatment to those who need it. They may not have all of their billing information on hand at all times, but they can rest assured that it is in good hands while they focus on doing their jobs to the best of their ability.
