Outsourced-Medical-Billing-Trends-2022

Outsourced Medical Billing Trends in 2022

Outsourced medical billing has long been a supporting pillar of the American medical industry. However, with the changing ecosystems and working patterns, medical billing services have also evolved their functions. On the one hand, technology has played a crucial role in upgrading the billing teams’ workflow management in the medical sector. On the other hand, financial investors are also looking forward to digital health start-ups which will revolutionize the medical billing industry.

AI in healthcare had started to ramp up the existing framework of the medical industry long back. But the unprecedented conditions due to the pandemic in the last couple of years have amplified the evolution. All the stakeholders in the healthcare industry, from healthcare practitioners to revenue cycle management leaders, are participating in the change. The evolving patterns are also supported by the authorities’ new rules like the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and The Joint Commission. In 2022, healthcare leaders are looking forward to some new and evolved trends in the medical industry. Outsourced medical billing companies will act as good enablers to the overall changing framework.

Increased Funding in Technology

  • The last couple of years in the pandemic have exposed several loopholes in the current digital framework of medical technology.
  • Healthcare leaders have identified the upcoming year as a good time to invest in more sophisticated technologies to simplify the current workflow.
  • Financial investors are also keen on taking up this opportunity to ramp up their performance, making it extremely viable for the stakeholders to take a step forward in their digital transformation journey.
  • Top health companies have taken their asset values up by millions during this time, with investments pouring in from all quarters.
  • According to a recent report by Rock Health, the investment for digital health funding has crossed all past records by the end of 2021.
  • Multi-chain healthcare companies like the Mayo Clinic, Renton, and Ascension themselves invested in several digital health projects.
  • However, not all investments are viable for healthcare groups of small or medium scales. Outsourced medical billing companies have taken this opportunity to cater to the needs of diverse clients.
  • Leading revenue cycle management companies have upgraded their technology and now offer SaaS solutions to many healthcare organizations.
  • Due to this reason, many health organizations are now able to access better technology in their daily workflow, making fewer manual errors and improving their revenue flow.
  • This trend is expected to reach a high during the next year with nation-wide health and economic situations stabilizing further.

Fluctuating Telehealth Use

  • The use of telehealth among patients has seen fluctuations this year, with several states varying in their rules.
  • Therefore it has become difficult to predict the upcoming trends in 2022 since it is likely that different states will have separate rules according to the changing situation of the medical industry.
  • A report from Fair Health has backed this trend with its scrutinized data analysis. The analysis states that there had been a steady decline in telehealth use during June and July. However, the numbers picked up again from August to September.
  • Telehealth has also shown decreased patient satisfaction in 2021, compared to 2020. While 53% patients reported their satisfaction with telemedicine in the first year of the pandemic, the numbers fell to 43% in 2021.
  • These fluctuating numbers in the telemedicine sector have left medical organizations in a state of confusion regarding its implementation in 2022.
  • When it comes to medical billing functions, the management teams need professional support separately to handle the changing regulations.
  • While healthcare organizations are not very sure of their next move in this field, outsourced medical billing has been supporting every evolving law to keep the revenue flow intact.
  • Outsourced medical billing teams deal with a diverse set of multiple healthcare organizations. This gives them the edge over in-house billing teams to work better in unique situations.
  • Leading revenue cycle management companies make sure that they train their staff on the regular changes to manage the situation well.
  • Using outsourced medical billing, particularly for telemedicine, in 2022 will give healthcare organizations a good vantage point.

Safeguarding against Data Breach                                   

  • The breach of healthcare information databases has been on the rise for the last few years now due to the increasing number of cyberattacks.
  • Due to this reason, healthcare organizations have also slowed down on their digitization methods for their medical data transfers.
  • The healthcare industry has seen a record number of cyberattacks since the beginning of 2020. The numbers amount to 40 starting from January 2020, according to a report from CyberPeace Institute.
  • Health systems and their Innovation Officers have been discussing their current conditions to mitigate the upcoming threats in data storage.
  • Several healthcare leaders have also pointed out that federal guidelines on how to protect against these attacks could prove to be helpful for medical organizations in the long run.
  • However, some healthcare organizations are looking forward to end-to-end professional guidance on protective measures to safeguard against data breaches.
  • Outsourced medical billing teams have prepared themselves with the latest HIPAA regulations and federal guidelines to protect their databases against complex cyber attacks.
  • They have also invested in home-grown security solutions to protect their information files, which can also be customized according to the various needs of the different organizations.
  • Medical organizations are ramping up their security measures to protect against future attacks. Taking the support from outsourced medical billing companies could prove to be a vital trend in 2022.

Get in touch with a leading revenue cycle management company to discuss your outsourcing needs. Get your financial health evaluated to understand how you are faring in the industry and what else you can do to improve your cash flow.

We hope this article helped you understand the upcoming trends in the outsourced medical billing industry in 2022. Please connect with us in the comment section below in case of any queries. Subscribe to our blog for regular articles on the medical billing industry. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more.

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