Believe or not on 90% of our sales calls the first question our potential clients ask is “what do you charge?”
I can understand why most medical offices focus on that “pre-programmed answer” they assume that all medical billing offices are the same. Because they do the same things–don’t they?
I’m here to tell you that they don’t. If you’re considering hiring a medical billing company, I’d like to give you a few different questions to ask, because the truth is ALL MEDICAL BILLING OFFICES ARE NOT ALIKE!
Instead of just asking about price, dig deeper.
Ranging from basic to difficult the answers to these questions will help you figure out if they will give you the attention and client service you deserve.
How long have they been in business? Make sure they have the longevity to grow with you.
Who are their clients? You’ll find out if they are experienced in your area of specialty.
Who are the owners? Understand if they share your strategic vision.
How often will you get to meet with the owners? Confirm how accessible they are if you need to reach them.
Are they givers or takers? Givers will help you grow by sharing information and resources that keep you current and ahead of your competitors. Find out if
- they will share what billing software they use with you
- the data always yours or theirs
- what format can the data be exported in.
How am I doing so far? These questions are a lot tougher than just pricing and we haven’t gotten to any performance questions yet! (I suspect I will get to that in another blog soon).
When it comes to finding the right medical billing company for you, do your research and think about what important qualities you need in a billing agency. If they deliver the right answers to the questions above, price won’t the only factor you base your decisions on.
Remember, not all medical billing companies are the same. Demand the best for your practice. But, if you only focus on price, you will get what you pay for.
Related posts:
- Forget Outsourcing, Try Rural Sourcing. MAS Agrees! Our friend Stacy Luft of CF Grow has posted this...
- Outsource your medical billing and get back to healing again! Throughout our years of servicing the healthcare field we have...
- Maximize your medical receivable with a few simple steps Often, when I am reviewing a client's medical receivable, I...
- Healthcare Debate: Getting Paid To Take Your Meds? There is a new "experiment" going on in Philadelphia-getting paid...
- Redefining your definition of “outsourcing” your medical billing It is unfortunate that the term "outsourcing" gets a bad...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Bill:
You bring up an old debate. Should price always drive choice of services? I think you have made a valid argument for your industry that it should not. I think many businesses; especially small businesses are challenged with this same issue. I know that it comes up in my field as well. At the end of the day I think you have to balance what your competition is doing against what you believe your services are worth. If you go the extra mile and provide something others in your field do not, then you should price it accordingly. Believe it or not, it isn’t always just the price all people are shopping for.
Bill, I couldn’t agree with Craig more! I have recently had an incredible experience with a series of doctor’s visits, and my experience had to with how well the office runs, not just that I like my doctor. I received phone calls about my results, reminder calls for my next appointment. But, the call that blew me away was when the office called to let me know they had a cancellation would I be interested in taking that appointment for my next visit that I needed to schedule. You may ask, what does this have to do with medical billing? In my opinion it has everything to do with medical billing and patient management. When your billing and collections are taken care of with a great process like MAS offers, your staff has time to focus on customer service or patient management.
Bill,
This article spoke to my heart. We are a family owned and operated medical billing company and will proudly answer all of those questions.
The world is so caught up in cost and metrics that sometimes we forget that the relationship with your business partners is just as important.
Adam