The staffing scenario in DME billing
In the wake of one of the biggest disruptions of the 21st Century, viz. the COVID-19 pandemic, US economy continues to struggle with an acute labor shortage across many sectors. In the realm of DME billing, the staffing crisis is a burning reality that is worrying many DME providers. With many of the earlier members of the staff having resigned, changed jobs or simply gone into early retirement, replenishing the missing personnel is proving to be a tough job. Even as the workforce totters out from the work-from-home scenario and back into the in-office scene, large gaps in productivity and efficiency are being noticed.
Back in office means that providers once again need to tackle conventional issues like absenteeism, time lost in commuting, providing paid leaves and other regular employee benefits. Such matters are only making things difficult and costlier for the typical DME provider. To add to the problem, there is always the risk of losing a good worker willing to return to work, to a competing provider offering better benefits and a higher pay.
The best option available to providers
To maintain consistent operations while overcoming the labor crisis, outsourcing of the DME billing process to dedicated agencies capable of providing such support is the most viable option. Having a professional Revenue Cycle Management partner can have an extremely beneficial impact on billing & collections. When the local market is plagued by an acute dearth of skilled labor, offshore outsourcing can provide all the right answers at the right time.
Outsourcing also practically eliminates the need to hunt for skilled billers and coders, train new personnel, keep them updated about the latest changes in billing norms and regulations, and so on. Providers are able to instantly tap into a vast pool of fully trained and certified medical billers, coders, AR (accounts receivable) experts and other kinds of experts. With huge reductions in operational expenses, coupled with diminished hassles and related worries, DME providers are likely to see their profitability rise, collections improve and denials get reduced over time.