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Am I in the Twilight Zone?

Am I in the Twilight Zone?

Medical practices routinely outsource accounting, IT, HIPAA, marketing –all without giving the process of outsourcing a second thought. That’s because we “subconsciously” understand that outsourcing creates huge benefits when we focus on “opportunity costs” and “specialization of labor”.


The advantages of outsourcing medical billing are clear and abundant:

Staff Flexibility

If your practice employees 2 full time billers, and one of them calls out sick, your billing process’s productivity is literally cut in half.

Specialization Of Labor

Much like you should choose an accountant who is well versed in medical practice costs, you should choose a billing company that specializes in podiatric billing. Unlike other specialties, podiatric billing has many nuances and state variations of Local Coverage Determinations policies (LCDs).

Focus of Core Business Processes

When you and your staff are focused on something other than medical care (what you have been well trained in), quality and costs escalate. Revenue generating opportunities are missed.

“With A Key…I Unlocked the Door to Imagination”

My Visit to the Twilight Zone

Recently, I had the opportunity to perform an onsite practice improvement consultation for one of my colleagues. Without warning, (other than “the road sign up ahead”),little did I know that I was about to enter the “Twilight Zone”.

From the surface, the practice’s data looked good. The 3 providers were very productive. But what lied on the other side of this door was another story. Their profitability was plummeting. They were all working harder and harder and making less and less. They were feeling trapped by their own existence. They were truly in the Twilight Zone.

Here are the notes from my office visit:

This practice had 8.6% of its collections dedicated to bankroll the billing process! But that is NOT what it’s truly costing this practice to perform billing! 8.6% is only the start. We must also estimate the losses that occur for any rating below 8 and add that to the costs.

In the end, it was estimated that it was costing this practice 10.5% of collections to perform billing. My decision was easy. Outsourcing to podiatric specific billers who could connect directly to the database of the providers was clearly the answer.

Here is the math that drives that decision:

The best part of this decision to outsource is yet to come. While the owners are now enjoying the extra $51,564, they are now on the path to higher revenues (making this decision even more profitable) since they can now focus on their core competencies, as consultants work behind the scenes to coach them and monitor their data, including MIPS.

2018 is the year that this practice will leave the Twilight Zone and enter the End Zone for a touchdown!

Would you like a free cost-benefit analysis, or have questions about what NEMO Health Medical Billing services can do for you? Contact me at John@nemohealth.com NOW!

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