Medical process outsourcing is the process through which a medical organization, such as a hospital, practice or clinic, transfers the responsibility of performing a specific business process to an external company, such as medical answering outsourcing services. This process has been around for many years and it is still going strong. In fact, medical business process outsourcing (BPO) has become increasingly more popular over the past few years, and this is a trend that doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
There are many reasons why medical BPO outsourcing has become so popular, since it offers a wide range of benefits for medical practices. For one, it allows companies to focus on their core medical activities without having to worry about the processes that are not in the company’s expertise. It also helps practices cut costs by reducing expenses associated with running these processes internally, while still offering a high standard of care to their patients.
However, there are also risks associated with medical outsourcing, especially if your business doesn’t make sure to hire a high-quality provider. Let’s get into the details of medical process outsourcing services and how to make sure you’re choosing the right one for your medical business.
What is medical process outsourcing?
As its name suggests, medical process outsourcing is simply outsourcing a function or service to a third party, such as a vendor. It is typically used by health plans and healthcare service providers to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
It can be difficult for healthcare providers to keep up with the ever-changing needs of their patients, which can lead to increased costs and lower quality of care. Medical process outsourcing helps providers meet these challenges by providing them with the resources they need to provide quality care at an affordable price.
Medical process outsourcing is a strategy that uses technology and expertise to take care of the administrative aspects of health care. It allows healthcare providers to focus on providing excellent patient care. By outsourcing these tasks, medical providers can provide quality care for an affordable price that maximizes revenue and minimizes costs.
How are medical processes outsourced?
In order to provide successful business process outsourcing in healthcare, third-party providers must be knowledgeable in different medical practice protocols. These protocols vary depending on the organization, and they define the way in which a medical group runs their everyday operations. There are many different types of business operating in the healthcare field, including hospitals, clinics, small medical practices, dentistry offices, hospices, and many other facilities that follow different sets of rules.
A good medical process outsourcing company will function as an extension of your own organization, following the same protocols and identifying areas in which your business can continue to improve.
The benefits of medical process outsourcing
Successful healthcare organizations know how to outsource their business processes to other companies. They do this because it not only saves them money, but it also provides access to new markets and improves customer service. Unsuccessful healthcare organizations, on the other hand, typically don’t know how to outsource their business processes.
BPOs in the healthcare industry are one of the biggest success stories of outsourcing. They have helped to make healthcare more accessible, affordable and efficient by providing a cost-effective way to manage complex processes and functions.
Some of the most common benefits enjoyed by health plan customers from BPOs include:
Reduction in operating costs: BPOs help health plans streamline their processes, which can reduce costs for businesses and customers alike. For example, a practice may outsource its customer service team to a BPO that specializes in customer service for an inexpensive monthly fee. This way, the plan can focus on its core medical processes rather than spending money on customer service. The cost of labor makes hiring on-site staff impossible for many small healthcare providers — for example, hiring a dedicated receptionist that earns $15-17 per hour can cost your practice over $30,000 each year, which can impact your business’ sustainability.
Increased efficiency: hiring third-party providers for certain processes, such as patient communications outsourcing, can also lead to increased efficiency for healthcare providers. For example, if a company outsources its appointment scheduling function to an outside agency, it will be able to focus more attention on developing other aspects of its everyday operations while still being able to schedule appointments quickly and efficiently.
Additionally, a good answering service will scrutinize the way phone calls are handled much more closely, which reduces the risk of costly mistakes and customer loss. These high-quality remote call centers will take every necessary measure to improve the quality of your customer service.
The risks of outsourcing low-quality medical outsourcing
Outsourcing medical processes to cheaper providers is a popular practice. However, this practice comes with high risks. Operators working with low-quality patient communications outsourcing companies may not be properly trained, which makes them prone to mistakes.
In the healthcare field, a simple mistake can lead to devastating consequences, such as HIPAA violations that can carry hefty fines. Unskilled operators may also be unable to answer your patients’ questions correctly, which can leave callers feeling confused, frustrated, and angry. Over time, this could harm your practice’s reputation and decrease your customer base and profits.
Business process outsourcing for health plans
Medical BPO is also incredibly important for insurance carriers. Health plans often have a high demand for customer service, which makes a medical answering outsourcing service a very powerful tool.
Answering service solutions for insurance carriers can perform a wide range of tasks, including prior authorization, verification, enrollment, overflow call handling, lead conversion, and answering customer service questions on different areas.
Outsourcing your medical answering service
Outsourcing medical answering services can be a great way to save time and money. This is because the third-party provider will have the necessary equipment and personnel to answer your calls 24/7, process your messages, call patients back, send automated reminders, and follow up on appointments and other patient requests.
However, it’s important to hire the right provider when it comes to medical answering outsourcing services. A good virtual call center will be able to handle all the tasks that we mentioned above and much more; this way, your practice’s reputation will improve and you will find it much easier to grow your customer base. Good customer service is one of the most important steps in making sure that patients return to your practice, especially when you need your customer service to work 24/7 and stay available to patients at all hours.
But if you hire a low-quality, cheap virtual answering service, you may be exposing your practice to business risks and losses. Untrained operators can increase your risk of HIPAA violations, lower customer retention, and bad reviews from unsatisfied callers.
