Running a healthcare organization or hospital is hard work. Every day and every patient is unique. Some days, nothing goes right, and on other days, things seem to be holding together well. But for many doctors and healthcare executives alike, the last thing they want to have to deal with is the complications of billing, insurance and having a consistent flow of revenue. That’s why more healthcare organizations than ever are outsourcing their revenue cycle management systems to third-party companies.
What Is RCM Outsourcing?
Healthcare providers and leaders usually have one major thing on their minds: taking care of patients and getting good results. Many would rather forget about the billing side of healthcare, leaving it to accountants and insurance specialists. That’s where revenue cycle management outsourcing comes into play: you give these tasks to another organization that specializes in them, and you both reap the rewards.
The number of healthcare organizations that are doing this has been steadily rising in recent years. According to Black Book Market Research, this number has grown by 48 percent since 2015, and 94 percent of hospital leaders are considering or vetting outsourcing companies. This is because for many of them, especially in this economic climate, the way their current revenue cycle management system is working…really isn’t. Bad debt piles up, especially for smaller organizations, and having to eat additional costs due to patients’ inability to pay puts a red streak through their finances.
Why Outsource?
Hospitals and organizations outsource their revenue cycle management for three main reasons.
- Their current system isn’t working and they need to replace it with something different. Otherwise, they will continue to lose money and be unable to function as they should.
- They want to focus on providing quality care to patients and not on whether they’re actually making money.
- Letting a trusted outside company run their finances will help them develop and implement strategies to cut down on costs and operate more efficiently, while not having to employ any extra staff to do it.
To many leaders in the healthcare industry, outsourcing billing and RCM just makes sense. It allows them to know what’s going on and adapt to the rapidly changing medical world while also taking a more hands-off approach.
Why DECO?
Of course, if you’re considering outsourcing your revenue cycle management, you want a company that you can trust with your finances. It needs to know what it’s doing and how the healthcare system works. It needs to have its own reliable systems set up and be willing to collaborate and communicate with providers and leadership. And along with these factors, it needs to be adaptable to change.
Fortunately, we at DECO meet all of those criteria! Our professional team works jointly with healthcare staff to maintain transparency and accountability. We take it upon ourselves to help patients effectively navigate the billing and insurance processes, and our proprietary software network keeps us up to date on what steps need to be taken next. Additionally, our 94 percent capture rate is evidence of how effective we are at keeping track of and following up on patient information. We visit patients while they’re still in the hospital to help them figure out next steps and insurance eligibility, while also maintaining a compassionate, professional, helpful presence that leaves them feeling like someone is looking out for them.
If you’re interested in learning more about revenue cycle management and outsourcing, contact us today!
