Why do so many anesthesiologists outsource their billing?

Did you know that anesthesiologists and anesthesia departments are more likely to outsource their billing than any other medical specialty? Here are a few reasons why:

Because anesthesiologists are generally a hospital based specialty, they really do not need an office. Most anesthesiologists deliver all of their services in a hospital setting. They generally have access to the patient registration information gathered by the hospital and are covered by the releases and consents signed by the patient at the hospital.

As the government and insurance companies have sought to squeeze more payments out of the system, experienced billing staff is critical to your financial success. And anesthesia billing is the most complicated specialty to bill correctly. The number of variables affecting the way a service is to be coded and billed is numerous. Anesthesiology is the only major specialty that requires time based billing. Some carriers require surgical codes and some require anesthesia codes. Was the service performed by an MD or a CRNA? If the case is a Medicare case, how many CRNAs was the MD medically directing at the same time? How does that determine the concurrent case modifiers that Medicare requires? These are only a few of the variables that make anesthesia billing much more complicated than billing for other medical specialties.

Experienced billers are hard to find. This is particularly true for anesthesia billers. NorthStar Anesthesia Billing Services uses AAPC certified coders. These highly trained and tested coders receive continuing education to keep their skills up to date. NorthStar Anesthesia Billing Services has over 20 years of experience billing for the services of Anesthesiologists and CRNAs.

Experienced billers are expensive. As the complexity of billing requirements have increased, the demand for qualified billers has increased. As a result, the cost of employing qualified anesthesia billers has increased dramatically. If you have a pension plan for the anesthesiologists and CRNAs in your practice, then normally you will have to extend similar benefits to your billing staff. Medical insurance, pensions, sick time and vacation time all add significantly to the cost of billing staff.

The unnecessary overhead of a large office is eliminated when you outsource your anesthesia billing. Rent, copiers, desks, phones, computers, maintenance contracts, computer software and the like all go away or are greatly reduced when you outsource your anesthesia billing.