You’ve interviewed a few dental billing companies, but you’re still on the fence about outsourced dental billing services. You want to make a profitable choice that will benefit you, the practice, your team, and your patients. But you’re still holding back on signing the contract with a dental billing company.
It’s a big decision, and it is likely going to make a huge impact on your dental practice. As a trusted dental billing partner, Dental ClaimSupport understands when there is hesitation on outsourcing dental billing services. You’re trusting people you don’t know to handle a huge portion of your revenue: your insurance claims.
And in our experience, this is typically a huge relief AND income generator for dental teams. But pulling the trigger on the decision can be challenging.
To make your choice easier, we’re sharing 5 tips to help you make a decision on dental billing services. These tips will help you gather more options and information on outsourced dental billing services that you might not otherwise get from a sales representative. If you follow these tips, your decision will be clearer, and you’ll be able to see what road is more profitable for you.
1. Talk to your team about it
As a dentist and/or dental practice owner, making the decision to outsource your billing is going to affect a lot - especially your in-house team. Talk to them about the decision! Get their input and let them help you in researching dental billing companies.
Members of your in-house team can even accompany you to the initial sales consultation with the dental billing company. Hearing your team’s input can be really helpful in making a decision about outsourcing your dental billing services.
Remember that you are the business owner and leader, and this decision is ultimately yours. If your team members tell you not to outsource for reasons leading with feelings versus logic, keep that in mind. It’s common for administrative team members to be nervous about you outsourcing your dental billing services because they believe their employment is threatened.
If you think this might influence their decision, keep that in mind and let them know they have nothing to worry about.
2. Reach out to fellow dentists who have chosen to outsource their dental billing
Get a second opinion! Assuming you are friendly with other dentists, ask around and see if any of them have outsourced their billing before.
Ask what company they used, which services they purchased, and how their experience is/was. Hearing directly from a dentist can show you firsthand how their practice has been affected by outsourced dental billing services. And this dentist likely has faced similar challenges as you, which is why both of you have explored outsourcing.
Related: Why is outsourced dental billing the new normal for dentists?
3. Run the numbers - are your collections suffering?
If you’re on the fence about outsourcing, the most logical thing to do is run the numbers. To be specific, what is your insurance collection percentage? How many unpaid insurance claims are on your aging report?
These are specific numbers that the outsourced biller will be dedicated to increasing, leading to an increase in your overall revenue. So, if these numbers are below average, hiring an expert to increase them is a good business decision. You’ll make more money, but also have an overall financially healthier practice.
And when you have someone consistently working on your insurance aging report, you don’t have to stay up at night thinking about all of the claims work that hasn’t been done. It’s taken care of. The truth is in the data - and if your dental practice is suffering because it needs someone dedicated to your claims process, it’s probably the right decision to outsource.
4. Read reviews on the dental billing companies you are considering
Gathering opinions on outsourced dental billing directly from other dentists can be even easier if you read online reviews.
Google reviews and Facebook reviews can give you some first-hand knowledge on others’ experience with dental billing companies. And some reviews can be really specific on what biller or service they really appreciated, and how it changed their dental practice. OR they could let you know how it negatively affected their dental practice.
Glassdoor reviews can also help you make your decision. Hearing what billers think of their current or previous employers at the dental billing company can be very telling. How a company treats its employees can be a reflection of how they treat its clients. If their employees are poorly compensated or overworked, they might be less incentivized to do a good job on your insurance claims.
5. Weigh the pros and cons of an outsourced dental billing service
There are pros and cons to everything, including the decision to outsource your dental billing.
Decide the good and bad about your decisions, and see which list is longer! Here are some pros and cons we’ve discovered about outsourced dental billing:
Pros:
- They handle the insurance billing so your team doesn’t have to
- Outsourcing your insurance billing is the least expensive option
- Outsourced remote billers have a pool of experts at their disposal
Cons:
- Outsourcing might be a tough transition for your dental team if they aren’t on board
- Consistent communication is involved
- You are handing your insurance billing over to someone outside the office
Understanding the pros and cons of the decision to outsource your billing can help you approach the choice logically. With logic on your side, you’ll choose the most profitable dental billing solution.
Dive deeper into the pros and cons of in-house dental billing vs outsourced dental billing in our Learning Center.
Ready to make your decision to outsource your dental billing services?
With these tips, you can gather the opinions of your employees, your dentist peers, and even information on the state of your dental practice. Knowing all of this will make the choice to outsource your dental billing easier, and you can approach this change with confidence.
Dental ClaimSupport is a trusted billing resource for practices hoping to collect more while paying less. Easy insurance income isn’t a pipe dream — it’s your reality when you work with Dental ClaimSupport.
To finally make your decision to outsource your dental billing, schedule a call with us.
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