Efficient and accurate medical billing is crucial for any practice’s financial health and disruptions to the revenue cycle can feel overwhelming. Managing these processes from the front end to the back end can be complex and time-consuming. As patient care continues from day to day, issues within the revenue cycle stack up over time and finding weak points in the process can feel impossible. Even with devoted staff, attentive management, and satisfied patients, issues can arise, often leading to lost revenue, compliance issues, and operational disruptions. While many healthcare providers turn to outsourcing, there’s an exciting alternative: utilizing advisory services for transparent and customized support.
Advisory services give a company the ability to optimize their revenue cycle management (RCM) while maintaining control of the billing process. Advisory services provide expert guidance on improving billing accuracy, reducing claim denials, and tracking missed payments with insurances, all while allowing you to keep the billing operations in-house. This approach helps maximize revenue and provides the internal team with additional knowledge and tools needed to implement better practices, leading to long-term stability and efficiency.
At ZMark Health, we have an experienced team of advisors ready to analyze the current operations of your practice and provide guidance on how to improve the inefficiencies of your current RCM. If you’re wondering how to turn things around without turning over full control, keep reading to learn about the benefits of advising and if this approach is the right step for your practice!
Control and Transparency
One of the main advantages of keeping your billing team in-house through the support of a knowledgeable advisor is the level of control and transparency it allows. Outsourcing means turning over financial data and access to patient accounts to a third party, which may not feel comfortable for some practices. Maintaining all current operations means direct oversight of how data is handled according to the standards set by your company.
Advisory services offer guidance and insight to help providers improve their internal processes without creating additional problems or stressors.
Cost Effective
Outsourcing RCM services can be expensive and structured to benefit larger providers through flat fees or a percentage of collections. Smaller or medium-sized providers with an interest in keeping costs low, would benefit more from short-term advisory compared to a longer commitment of outsourcing services. Costs add up quickly and targeted assistance through a consulting agreement could be the exact level of service your practice needs.
By paying for expertise only when necessary, practices can significantly reduce costs compared to full outsourcing. This cost-effective approach allows for better financial management while absorbing the benefits of professional guidance.
Customized Improvements
Every company is unique, with a set of specific needs, challenges, and approaches to patient care. Outsourced services typically use a standardized approach to revenue management and may not take into consideration all the intricacies that make your practice special. On the other hand, an advisor works closely with your team to understand how your company runs and provides tailor-made solutions to improve operations.
A personalized approach addresses more than simply improving the bottom line. Through data analytics, clinical process audits and a review of overall patient satisfaction, a customized plan is used to implement necessary changes throughout the entire revenue process.
Educate, Empower, Implement
One of the key roles of a medical billing advisory service is to educate your internal team. Rather than simply taking over the billing process, advisors work to improve the existing skills of your staff, ensuring they have the knowledge and tools needed to manage denials, patient collections, and all aspects of the RCM more effectively. These tools lead to long-term benefits through empowerment and greater understanding of processes. Your team will become more proficient and confident in handling tasks and, ultimately, reduce errors and increase efficiency.
Adding an educational component to the advisory process allows staff to learn new standards together, gain insight into the importance of streamlining the revenue cycle, and fosters adaptability in the ever-changing healthcare industry.
Scalability and Flexibility
As a company grows, the billing needs will likely evolve as well. Outsourcing may help resolve leaks in the revenue stream, but a longer-term contract may not help with increased patient volume or changes to service offerings. With an advisory service, you can utilize the support during a period of growth, stagnation, or recovery, and maintain flexibility with your operations. An experienced advisor can help a company develop tailored strategies to navigate these changes without disrupting the flow of revenue.
Consider how an outside party will support today’s problems while remaining flexible for future growth.
Conclusion
A robust and well-functioning revenue cycle is crucial for the financial health of any healthcare practice. Outsourcing might seem like the ideal solution and yield results over time but comes with trade-offs such as higher costs or loss of control. By utilizing a provider advisory service, practices can optimize their processes and empower their teams, all while keeping operations in-house.
In our blog post on analytics, we discussed how ZMark Health advisors use data to support providers and organizations. Through data analysis, our advisors gain an understanding of billing workflows and clinical processes to provide transparent and customized solutions that best fit your practice. Data assessment allows for an advisor to zone in on specific challenges and areas of improvement and allows a company to maintain these changes on their own. If you want a more efficient and effective practice, consider reaching out to ZMark Health to learn how an advisor could best support your company in reaching these goals.