Why Should You Outsource Your Physical Therapy Billing?

Many private practice physical therapy owners know the importance of collecting as much of their receivables as possible. However, I have found that very few of them know what it takes to make that happen, nor really wants to know what it takes to make that happen other than to make it happen. They just want to have the money due them and not have to worry about anything more than that. This sounds like a perfect scenario to have someone else do the work and just report it done and ‘show me the money.’ Actually, there are many other reasons why one may want to consider outsourcing their billing and collections department to a professional company that specializes in the area of physical therapy. First, it frees up the owner’s payroll requirements. This is not a 100% savings since the top physical therapy billing services do not come free. However, the percentage paid to receive the service will undoubtedly be less than the staff to do the service in-house. These significant savings will allow the owner to invest more in his marketing to drive more patients in the door. Secondly, the owner will have space now vacated that can be used for revenue-producing activities. This could be a treatment space or a dedicated area for marketing efforts to be planned and carried out. As important as it is to have a healthy cash flow, a practice requires new patients regularly coming in the door to be able to have any cash to flow. Thirdly, with less staff comes less supervision. I have heard many an owner exclaim that their first real problem came when they hired their first employee. It kind of rings true, doesn’t it? What happens to the billing and collecting activities when the staff person in charge goes on vacation or has to stay home with sick kids? Is there a system in place that will allow for you or anyone else to just jump in and pick up the ball? And if so, what else will sacrifice in the practice in the meantime? This usually equates to a hiccup in the cash flow ahead. And how does one keep up with the ever-changing landscape of the rules and regs relating to bundles, codes, modifiers, etc? I am sure you have nothing better to do after a day of treating all those patients and completing the necessary documentation than to sit down for this stimulating topic. I know. I have been there. And I know many other owners who have had the ‘deer in the headlights’ look at the end of the month when they get their stack of financial reports and wonder where the money is. The fact of the matter is that it takes time, diligence and knowledge to accomplish the goal of actually recovering 90+% of what one should be receiving in a timely manner. And in order to accomplish this something else usually has to suffer, and who can afford to cut back production and marketing to chase the money? Outsourcing one’s physical therapy billing and collections may make more sense than you originally thought.