For many Ambulatory Surgery Centers, providing adequate patient care is challenging enough, so when should they consider hiring an outsourcing company to handle billing matters and such?

According to “Becker’s ASC Review” when Ambulatory Surgery Centers experience the following circumstances, they should consider exploring outsourced physician services to handle their billing and collections:

• When struggling to find and retain qualified staff.
• When billing results trail far behind standard benchmarks.
• When revenue is decreasing while volume is increasing.
• If there are compliance concerns.
• When audits reveal significant issues.
• For new centers lacking a strong business office.

“On a basic level, most outsourcing companies provide coding from the operative note within 24-48 hours, implant billing, accurate contractual adjustments, daily payment posting, fee schedule analysis and maintenance, resolution of software or clearinghouse issues related to billing, loading of managed care contracts and any updates, compliance and HIPAA programs, timely refund recommendations and enforcement of prompt payment laws,” said Caryl Serbin, executive vice president and chief strategy officer for SourceMedical.

“Optional services may include managed care contracting, state reporting and benchmarking.

“An outsourcing company can only do so much on its own and will need an ASC to truly serve as a partner in this relationship. The center should communicate and meet regularly with its outsourcing company to help foster and ensure a positive working relationship.”