RE: Billing - in house or outsource?

April 27, 2008

,

I'm actually invesigating this too...I would be

grateful to hear other people's input.

I hear BMS www.bmsreimbursement.com is very good, but

I guess they don't do many start ups from when I

talked to them. I have looked into

venturepractice.com but haven't heard back yet. I've

also been having some luck with local companies that

do it too.

Dan

Olathe, KS

--- wendyposter889 wrote:

> I am getting ready to open my own practice and

> wanted your opinions on

> doing billing in-house versus outsourcing.

>

> Which do you prefer?

>

> If you outsource, do you know a solid company that

> does a lot of PT?

>

> Do any billing companies have

> documentation/scheduling software they

> let you use (like Office Ally does)?

>

> Any advice would be very appreciated.

>

> Thanks,

>

> PT

> Tacoma, WA

>

April 27, 2008

,

There are pro and cons to both.? However, if you learn the billing ( a bit)?its

definitely an asset to your skill set since you'll know it and won't leave

yourself open to unknown factors.? On the other hand, some practices prefer not

to in house bill since it is an additional responsbility in the start-up and one

that can take considerable efforts.? I haven't ever outsourced, but knowing the

billing is valuable in case there is an issue with the billing outsource.? I had

my wife involved from the start and we both learned.? This was key because

billing is a skill that can take a skilled biller little time to get lots done

or an unskilled open to error.? I would do if:

-If you want to know all aspects of your practice, well so you minimize your

long term risks with knowledge

-Have a clear oversite of the area, so you don't can see exactly the how the

money is coming in or not

-Eventually train another to do it, because a good biller in the long run will

be cheaper than a clearinghouse

Don't

If you have another job or less time and want less initial overhead

Don't have someone that you trust in the beginning to get it going

Don;t have the management tools to assure that others can get things done for

you

Vinod Somareddy, DPT

Billing - in house or outsource?

I am getting ready to open my own practice and wanted your opinions on

doing billing in-house versus outsourcing.

Which do you prefer?

If you outsource, do you know a solid company that does a lot of PT?

Do any billing companies have documentation/scheduling software they

let you use (like Office Ally does)?

Any advice would be very appreciated.

Thanks,

PT

Tacoma, WA

April 27, 2008

I just started a new clinic two months ago and am currently outscourcing my

billing to a company but it does not give me a warm and fuzzy to have to

constantly be on the phone with them. I just luckly lured the old biller from

my last job to come work with me. It is a great piece of mind to have someone

dedicated just to you who u can speak with face to face about the billing

process for me...

Hope that helps a little,

Peer Himler PT

To: PTManager@...: wendyposter889@...: Mon, 28 Apr

2008 01:47:50 +0000Subject: Billing - in house or outsource?

I am getting ready to open my own practice and wanted your opinions on doing

billing in-house versus outsourcing. Which do you prefer?If you outsource, do

you know a solid company that does a lot of PT?Do any billing companies have

documentation/scheduling software they let you use (like Office Ally does)?Any

advice would be very appreciated.Thanks,PTTacoma, WA

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April 28, 2008

There are several choices in outsource billing for PT services only. I

happen to run a company like this in Cedar Rapids, IA. There is another

company

in your backyard (Clinicient) that also does only PT.

Jim <///><

**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car

listings at AOL Autos.

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April 28, 2008

Hi,

outscourcing is not the best choice, i prefer doing th billing myself. you will

always be current in your report and you will always catch the mistakes before

the billing co. does. i worked for a billing co. in nyc and it was hard to be on

top of the doctors report.

Peer Himler wrote:

I just started a new clinic two months ago and am currently outscourcing my

billing to a company but it does not give me a warm and fuzzy to have to

constantly be on the phone with them. I just luckly lured the old biller from

my last job to come work with me. It is a great piece of mind to have someone

dedicated just to you who u can speak with face to face about the billing

process for me...

Hope that helps a little,

Peer Himler PT

To: PTManager@...: wendyposter889@...: Mon, 28 Apr

2008 01:47:50 +0000Subject: Billing - in house or outsource?

I am getting ready to open my own practice and wanted your opinions on doing

billing in-house versus outsourcing. Which do you prefer?If you outsource, do

you know a solid company that does a lot of PT?Do any billing companies have

documentation/scheduling software they let you use (like Office Ally does)?Any

advice would be very appreciated.Thanks,PTTacoma, WA

__________________________________________________________

Make i'm yours. Create a custom banner to support your cause.

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e_IM_Yours

April 28, 2008

I compare using a Billing Service to an addictive drug. It's really not good

for you but it makes you feel better temporarily. Also the more you use it the

more expensive it gets.

There are many software programs out there that will check claim errors for

you, have all kinds of follow up measures to make sure claims are getting paid

and help you get set up with electronic billing.

Not to say there are not some benefits to using a service, but in my opinion

in-house is definately the way to go.

There are allot of Software Systems that will handle the billing very well and

give you many tools to get paid quickly. I use PT Adavantage Software,

www.Advantagesoftware.com billing is easy, and it is relatively inexpensive.

Specailly when you consider the real costs of using a Billing Service.

Just my two cents.

Jim Briggs, PT

PTinla1@...

JHall49629@... wrote:

There are several choices in outsource billing for PT services only. I

happen to run a company like this in Cedar Rapids, IA. There is another company

in your backyard (Clinicient) that also does only PT.

Jim <///><

**************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car

listings at AOL Autos.

(http://autos.aol.com/used?NCID=aolcmp00300000002851)

April 28, 2008

We started with in house billing but when it got to be too much to

handle I outsourced it and paid 6% on collections. This worked for a

while but what I noticed was our A/R started increasing and a lot of

small balance where being written off. I eventually brought billing

back in house, hired a billing person and our collection rate went up.

I feel the moral of my story is that an outside service is not going to

put any effort into disputing incorrect contract reimbursements, denied

payments or small balances. They look at the quick turn around and do

not have incentive to go after the small balances or the denials that

can be disputed. Take $25 balance owed, are they going to make several

phone calls on your behalf to get paid $1.50. Some might but my

experience is that it is not cost effective for the agency to work this

hard for such a small payoff. Yes you have to hire someone who is good

at and likes to doing billing and collections and who will not look at

small balances as too much work.

Best of luck.

Poe

Clinic Administrator

New Heights Integrative Therapy

Portland, OR

jim briggs wrote:

>

> I compare using a Billing Service to an addictive drug. It's really

> not good for you but it makes you feel better temporarily. Also the

> more you use it the more expensive it gets.

>

> There are many software programs out there that will check claim

> errors for you, have all kinds of follow up measures to make sure

> claims are getting paid and help you get set up with electronic billing.

>

> Not to say there are not some benefits to using a service, but in my

> opinion in-house is definately the way to go.

>

> There are allot of Software Systems that will handle the billing very

> well and give you many tools to get paid quickly. I use PT Adavantage

> Software, www.Advantagesoftware.com billing is easy, and it is

> relatively inexpensive. Specailly when you consider the real costs of

> using a Billing Service.

>

> Just my two cents.

>

> Jim Briggs, PT

> PTinla1@... <mailto:PTinla1%40yahoo.com>

>

> JHall49629@... <mailto:JHall49629%40aol.com> wrote:

>

> There are several choices in outsource billing for PT services only. I

> happen to run a company like this in Cedar Rapids, IA. There is

> another company

> in your backyard (Clinicient) that also does only PT.

>

> Jim <///><

>

> **************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S.

> used car

> listings at AOL Autos.

> (http://autos.aol.com/used?NCID=aolcmp00300000002851

> <http://autos.aol.com/used?NCID=aolcmp00300000002851>)

>

April 28, 2008

Outsourcing your billing can be a good option for a start-up clinic.

Just like everything else there are good companies and bad ones. In

general, what you will see with an outsoured company is that the AR

will slowly begin to creep upward. This is because the billing company

will tend to chase the easiest money and will tend to neglect the

accounts with a balance of less than $50 because of the law of

" diminishing returns " it simply becomes cost prohibitive to chase

small money. Unfortunately, that small money tends to add up over time

and you may wish you had it. Clinics who use billing companies will

almost always have higher write-offs than those who collect in house.

Of course bad in house billing can also be costly. Buy generally once

a clinic is seeing more than 90 visits a week, it is time to bring it

in house.

Rob Jordan, PT, MPT, GCS, OCS

Sent from iPhone

On Apr 27, 2008, at 11:15 PM, Peer Himler

wrote:

>

> I just started a new clinic two months ago and am currently

> outscourcing my billing to a company but it does not give me a warm

> and fuzzy to have to constantly be on the phone with them. I just

> luckly lured the old biller from my last job to come work with me.

> It is a great piece of mind to have someone dedicated just to you

> who u can speak with face to face about the billing process for me...

>

> Hope that helps a little,

> Peer Himler PT

>

> To: PTManager@...: wendyposter889@...:

> Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:47:50 +0000Subject: Billing - in

> house or outsource?

>

> I am getting ready to open my own practice and wanted your opinions

> on doing billing in-house versus outsourcing. Which do you prefer?If

> you outsource, do you know a solid company that does a lot of PT?Do

> any billing companies have documentation/scheduling software they

> let you use (like Office Ally does)?Any advice would be very

> appreciated.Thanks,PTTacoma, WA

>

> __________________________________________________________

> Make i'm yours. Create a custom banner to support your cause.

>

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e_IM_Yours

>

April 30, 2008

I agree that there are good and bad outside billing companies, just like

there are good and bad in-house billers. However, my PT Benchmark research

has usually shown that locations that outsource generally charge more and

collect more and that even after paying the fees they have more net income.

Write offs are not what count, what counts is the cash in the door.

Many practices do an excellent job of in-house billing. It just means that

someone on staff really needs to get properly trained and stay current on

the issues. Many smaller practices struggle with this.

Chuck

R. Felder, PT, MBA

HCS Consulting, Inc.

1303 E 6th St, Ste 104

Corona, CA 92882

Mobile:

Fax:

Office Phone:

CFelder@...

<http://www.hcsconsulting.com/> www.HCSconsulting.com

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