Outsource v. in-house: Reduce billing overhead

Unsure whether to outsource or keep billing in-house?  Both approaches have the potential for practices to reduce overhead and maximize revenue. 

For Jerome Potozkin, M.D., a dermatologist at a Danville, California private practice, outsourcing patient collections has helped drive revenue at the medical office, according to Physician’s Money Digest.

Instead of worrying about billing issues, his staff instead focus on the day-to-day operation of his practice. It also means he doesn’t have to hire additional staff--a huge savings, he told the publication.

Outsourcing "allows us to maintain great customer service, where we’re not getting millions of patient phone calls to the office about their bill,” Potozkin said. “My staff can focus on delivering the best customer service possible to our patients.”

But Joseph Jenkins, M.D., owner of Tri-State Vein Center in Iowa, prefers to keep billing in house, collecting payments at the initial point of service. 

His staff members obtain the patient’s insurance information at the first visit and a dedicated staffer researches whether the patient has met his or her deductible and the amount of the patient's copay and coinsurance, Jenkins told the publication.

“The bottom line is cash flow,” Jenkins says. “Money comes into this practice quick. That’s the key.”