AAOS Now – April 2014
by Jennifer A. O’Brien, MSOD
In addition to the compliance and security issues highlighted in part 1 of this series (“Avoid Billing Service Nightmares,” AAOS Now, February 2014), an evaluation of operations, experience, and costs is essential to selecting the right partner for the provision of billing services. This is true whether the practice is considering outsourcing billing and collections or sorting through a productivity-based hospital employment deal in which the hospital would take over practice billing. In either case, it’s important to get answers and information before making a move.
Orthopaedic practices that are considering outsourcing billing and collections should recognize that all billing companies are not created equal. Some may be mom-and-pop outfits (literally operating out of the living room with dial-up Internet service); others may be publicly traded companies. Although size does not matter, experience, professionalism, regulatory compliance, and technical capacity do.