Medical coding is the most arduous and delicate process within the entire revenue cycle management. Overlooking or disregarding even trivial diagnosis and procedures can lead to claim denials or delays. Therefore it is an avowed verity that medical coding requires certified and skilled coders to ensure efficient coding. However, deciding whether to handle your coding in-house or outsource needs considerate analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of both in-house and outsourced medical coding. It also requires you to understand the complexities involved in medical coding process.
Medical Coding Process and Certifications
Medical Coding is the process of converting billable diagnosis and procedures into acceptable codes. Any error or mishandling in medical coding also impacts the other scopes of medical billing and results waste of time and effort. Missing to code any billable diagnosis or procedures indirectly means lost revenue. Medical coding is the most crucial facet in determining the claims reimbursement and cash flow to your business.
Medical coders are expected to be certified by American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC) and American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Furthermore, certified coders are required to maintain their certifications by continuing education units (CEUs) every 2 years which indirectly means the demand for experienced and certified coders are exorbitant.
Below discussed points are aimed to help the reader understand what to expect while outsourcing medical coding services to an offshore medical billing and coding company:
Improvised Bandwidth: With a part of your revenue cycle process being outsourced to offshore vendor, liberates you from getting into every trivial issues related to coding, and requires your attention to just overlook the entire process being handled and processed overseas by coding experts with vast experience and updated knowledge of coding nuances and guidelines.
Experienced and Certified Coders: Many billing companies are at loss of dedicated and experienced coder impacting the quality of coding and billing process. An outsourced medical billing company engage trained, proficient and certified coders to handle your medical coding process productively. Outsourcing your coding process to an offshore based medical billing company eliminates time and money spend on hiring, training and retaining efficient coders. Your billing partner will also take care of coder’s CEUs to keep their credentials up-to-date.
Error free and Quality Coding Services: Medical coders from an outsourced medical billing company has years of expertise handling numerous claims day to day. With their expertise, years of experience and with regular training, they provide an error free coding service within the stipulated turnaround time (TAT)
Cost Effective Coding Service: When compared with in-house coding, outsourcing is cost effective with better ROI. In fact, cost saving has been seen as the major reason for opting an offshore coding partner. Outsourcing medical coding liberates you from cost on hiring, training, maintaining proficient coders. Offshore outsourcing medical coding gains quality service at lower cost.
Better ROI: An offshore based medical billing and coding company studies the key areas that impact your ROI and work proactively to enhance regular cash flow and ensures better return of Investment, as most billing companies charge for their service on percentage of collections tied to accuracy and quality, it is apparent that they aim at delivering substantial ROI assuring you with greater savings.
Enhanced Scalability: Outsourcing your medical coding helps you scale up on your cash inflow by handling your coding volume even at the high demanding season. Having a third party coding company handle coding services eliminates you from stress of absenteeism and attrition, thereby providing continuous support even during tough times like the current Covid-19 situation. Offshore outsourcing helps you scale up quality of your services and the overall profit of your business.
Flexible Pricing and Contracts: Most offshore billing partners are flexible in terms of contracting option, pricing and timings. Offshore medical billing companies offer different range of pricing models like percentage of collections, Per Coding Full Time Equivalent, Per Chart basis to help suit your requirement. They also analyze your current coding and billing set up and suggest the best pricing model that suits your business.
About Ecare India:
e-care India is one of the pioneering offshore medical billing companies based in India that promises to avoid the risks involved with missed Charges. With 20 years of experience in the industry, e-care’s 3 delivery centers have been providing medical coding and end-to-end medical claims processing services seamlessly to its clients. To know more about e-care and its services, log on to www.ecareindia.com.