External or internal billing system? It is worth thinking about!

Having talked to many physicians, one common thing that I have come across is that physicians are generally reluctant to make a decisive decision about who to hand over the responsibility for handling the financial side of their profession. Whether it should be outsourced or should it be an internal matter. In my opinion, whether it is an internal or external system, they have their pros and cons.

This is one of the most important decisions to make, as income is the lifeblood of any medical practice. Inadequate technology, abrupt disruption, incompetent staff can affect the health of the practice. It is immensely vital that a practice remains healthy, and by healthy, I mean it must be financially sound, so administrative work must be done with care.

Some doctors find comfort in knowing that they can have complete supervision of their finances. An internal billing system gives you direct control over your staff in the sense that the entire process is in your hands, and in the event of any issue, accessibility is the biggest advantage. Daily operations can be closely monitored and any changes required during billing can be made instantly, thus avoiding delays and errors.

While these are some of the advantages, incorporating the new technology would entail huge costs and with only 2-3 staff members, in the absence of one, work can be greatly hampered. Profitability depends on the competence of one or two billers.

Therefore, internal billing will not be as profitable and maintaining an optimal level of cost structure will definitely be a major concern, especially for smaller practices.

On the other hand, there are chances that outsourced invoicing will be less expensive and remain consistent, since it is a group of experts that takes care of everything. It can save you the cost of infrastructure, upgrade your technology, hire staff and other resources. If you choose to outsource your billing, you can be stress free by having a team of dedicated professionals handling your income, claims, etc. Despite outsourcing, you can still be in full control of your finances.

The much talked about transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 requires a certain amount of training and this could easily come with an outsourced company. Last but not least, you can fully focus on your main profession.