Managing billing in-house may work well for some optometry practices, but as a practice grows, billing can become increasingly complex and time-consuming.
Between claim submission, insurance follow-up, denials, accounts receivable, patient balances, and constantly changing payer requirements, your staff can spend a significant amount of time managing the revenue cycle.
So how do you know when it may be time to consider outsourcing?
Your Accounts Receivable Is Growing
A rising accounts receivable balance can be an early sign that claims aren’t being followed up on quickly enough.
When staff members are juggling patients, phones, scheduling, insurance verification, and billing responsibilities, unpaid claims can easily fall to the bottom of the priority list.
Consistent A/R follow-up helps identify unpaid or underpaid claims before they become older and more difficult to collect.
Claim Denials Keep Repeating
Every practice experiences occasional denials. The concern is when the same denial reasons continue appearing.
Repeated denials may indicate problems with eligibility verification, coding, documentation, payer requirements, claim submission, or internal workflows.
A dedicated billing team can monitor denial trends and help identify the underlying causes rather than simply correcting claims one at a time.
Your Front Desk Is Doing Too Much
Your front-office staff plays an important role in the patient experience.
When they’re simultaneously answering phones, checking patients in and out, scheduling appointments, verifying insurance, collecting balances, and following up on claims, something eventually gets less attention.
Separating some revenue-cycle responsibilities from daily front-office duties can allow your staff to focus more attention on patients and practice operations.
You Don’t Have Time to Monitor the Revenue Cycle
Practice owners should have a clear understanding of what’s happening with their revenue.
How much is sitting in accounts receivable? Why are claims being denied? Which payers are taking longer to reimburse? Are outstanding balances being followed up appropriately?
If those questions are difficult to answer, your practice may benefit from more structured revenue-cycle management.
Hiring and Training Billing Staff Has Become Difficult
Finding experienced staff who understand optometry billing can be challenging.
Hiring an employee also involves more than salary. Practices may have expenses related to payroll taxes, benefits, training, turnover, and ongoing supervision.
Outsourcing can provide access to billing support without requiring the practice to manage another full in-house billing position.
Outsourcing Doesn’t Mean Losing Control
One concern practice owners sometimes have is that outsourcing billing means giving up control of their revenue cycle.
It shouldn’t.
A good billing partnership should provide more visibility, not less. Your billing company should communicate with your practice, identify problems, provide meaningful information about your accounts, and work as an extension of your team.
Is Outsourcing Right for Your Practice?
Every optometry practice is different. Outsourcing may make sense when billing responsibilities are overwhelming your staff, denials are increasing, accounts receivable is aging, or you simply want more consistent oversight of your revenue cycle.
Precision Eye Care Billing Solutions, Inc. provides personalized billing and revenue-cycle support specifically for eye care practices.
Wondering whether your current billing process is leaving revenue on the table? Schedule your complimentary 15-minute Revenue Cycle Assessment and let’s take a closer look.