There are several factors to be taken into account, in today’s ever-changing scenario; by the healthcare providers as far as ENT practice billing is concerned. The first challenge is ensuring minimum or no denials for reimbursements, and keeping up with the changes in CPT codes, which are major obstacles for ENT practices. No wonder, most of the practitioners are entrusting their billing activities to professional ENT billing companies, so that they can stay ahead at all the times. In case you are planning to outsource your ENT billing practice to a medical billing and coding company, here are 5 great reasons that will help you decide faster.
1. Losses Incurred Due to Denials
One can’t deny the fact that denials are a nightmare that some practices have learned to live with. However, it is time to clean up your act, because denials not only cause irreparable damage to your ENT practice, the losses associated with such denials can pile up. With an average denial working upwards of $25 to $30, the math is not that difficult to work out. Moreover, calculate the time your in-house staff would have to spend following up on the denial. Once you outsource your ENT billing, it is the responsibility of the company to take care of all such issues.
2. Cutting down on Staff Expenditure
Needless to say that when you outsource your ENT billing to a professional company that will take care of CPT code updates, the reimbursement denials, your staffing overhead costs, get reduced. In addition to salaries, you will be saving on the benefits, office equipment, and software, which you would have to otherwise invest in. You will be saving on precious office space as well, which can be devoted for patients.
3. Training and Other Costs
While you employ your own in-house staff to take care of all your billing requirements, you will have to spend significant amounts on training. With the healthcare industry evolving continuously, there are several updates that need to be kept up with. The expenses you would incur on spending on your in-house staff can be saved when you outsource your ENT billing to any professional company whose business it is to keep up with the new codes and updates in medical billing.
4. Saving Precious Time
In today’s fast-paced world, time is of the essence. If ENT billing were to be carried out in-house, you would need to spend a lot of your time on overseeing and supervising your staff, which can leave you very hard-pressed for time to spend on your practice. More often, physicians end up assisting their staff with the intricacies and issues related to billing, not to mention the precious time spend on tons of paperwork as well.
5. Complying with ICD-10
This is a major step forward in the healthcare industry, and while some practices have already begun the process of preparing for ICD-10, yet others are in the process. According to the American Health Management Association (AHMA), coders will have to spend several hours in training (16 hours on ICD-10CM, and 24 hours on ICD-1- PCS) apart from the 10 hours that need to be spent for implementing these changes in an ENT practice. This is indeed a laborious and tedious process that is best handled by a professional medical billing coding company that knows its business well.
Conclusion:
Hence, it makes sense for ENT practices to focus on their practice and leave the cumbersome billing and coding part to any professional ENT billing company that will be well-versed with CPT code updates, Medicare-related issues, and other such details associated with ENT billing.
FAQs
1. How can outsourcing ENT billing reduce denials?
Outsourcing ensures that experienced professionals handle billing and coding, minimizing errors and reducing the chances of claim denials, which ultimately boosts your practice’s revenue.
2. How does outsourcing help save on staff expenditures?
Outsourcing eliminates the need for in-house billing staff, reducing overhead costs related to salaries, benefits, office space, and software, allowing you to focus resources on patient care.
3. Will outsourcing ENT billing reduce training costs?
Yes, outsourcing means you don’t have to invest in ongoing training for your staff, as professional billing companies stay updated on the latest codes and regulations, saving you time and money.
4. How does outsourcing ENT billing save valuable time?
By outsourcing, you eliminate the need to supervise billing staff, allowing more time for patient care and reducing the amount of time spent on administrative tasks and paperwork.
5. How does outsourcing ensure compliance with ICD-10?
Outsourcing to a professional billing company ensures your practice stays compliant with ICD-10 requirements, as they are already trained and prepared to handle all the necessary updates and changes.
