Have you heard this yet?

Bronx-Lebanon Hospital owes Alexis Rodriguez, and several hundred other patients, an apology.  It was just “a simple mistake,” of course.  But tell that to Alexis Rodriguez. 

Basically, the billing firm handling invoicing for Bronx-Lebanon Hospital made a data entry error that placed the invoice number in the “Amount Owed” field.  So several hundred patients received bills to the tune of eight digits!

Here’s a link to the full article: “You’re Better – and You Owe $44 Million.”

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I’m not faulting Bronx-Lebanon for outsourcing their billing.  We think outsourcing is one of the smartest things a hospital can do.

But here’s the thing:   The company they chose to trust with invoicing their patients fell short when it to came time to quality review.

And that, my friends, created a mess.

Outsourcing can be a risky business when you don’t hire the best.  Here are some tips to keep in mind if you’re considering outsourcing:

1. Details, details, details:  In this case, this little faux pas happened because the company Bronx-Lebanon chose to use didn’t pay attention to the details.  It’s vital for a company to pay attention to little details that can make the difference between a job well done and an embarrassing mess. So when you’re considering outsourcing a job to a company, pay attention to little details like what kind of presence they have on social media or how they handle communications such as responses to your e-mails.  These little clues can give you insight into how they may handle your job.
2. Pricing:  Outsourcing can’t be a matter of finding the lowest bid and running with it.  Who knows how much money Bronx-Lebanon has lost in cleaning up this snafu, but you can bet they’ve lost quite a bit in future earnings just based on a sullied reputation.  And errors like this aren’t the only possibility when you go with the lowest bidder.  Any time corners get cut or quality is sacrificed for price, you run the risk of looking bad, or possibly even running into legal trouble.
3. Reputation:  You’ve got to be able to trust the company you’re working with to have the same quality standards as you and your facility.  A solid firm you’re going to hire needs to have a strong reputation you can trust.  A history of success you can research and rely on.  I wasn’t able to find much about the company Bronx-Lebanon used for their invoicing.  Maybe that says something.

I know from my own experience, outsourcing has its pros and cons.  So if you’re going to enjoy the benefits and steer clear of the potential hazards, you need to be able to settle on a company with the history and reputation to stand behind their work and keep your name out of the headlines.

Tell me, what guidelines do you follow when hiring a vendor? Any best practices you look for when outsourcing?  What do you do to pay attention to details?  Let me know in the comments.