The healthcare industry is always under pressure due to the ever-rising demand from patients for superior quality patient care. Another stress-building issue is the need for compliance with various strict regulations and standards that are implemented to ensure security of protected healthcare information. To relieve some of the administrative and documentation burden, healthcare units seek the assistance of a business process outsourcing company to assist with their back-office work like accounting, customer service, payroll, IT and so on. Outsourcing ensures efficiency, flexibility, revenue generation and minimizes the risk of non compliance.
According to a 2019 case study of market trends in the healthcare system, the global healthcare BPO market is expected to reach USD 449,623.8 million growing at a 12.3% CAGR in the forecast period till 2023. This shows that the healthcare BPO industry is growing and the reasons for this increase are:
- Better focus on core competencies: By outsourcing, healthcare units can focus on core competencies. Healthcare units can outsource activities like managing bills, logging data entry, processing claims and resolving patient disputes.
- Access to professionals at lower rates: Outsourcing provides access to skilled professionals who help to mitigate unnecessary burden of procurement, administration, logistics, accounting, and other tasks. These professionals can handle huge volumes of data related to patients’ medical records, electronic monitoring systems, billing codes etc and ensure that there is properly managed IT function. They also have the required IT domain expertise to maintain a strong IT infrastructure.
- Improved patient care: Once all repetitive tasks are outsourced to professionals, you are free from the jobs of document drafting, processing claims and entering bills. This allows healthcare providers to focus more on treating patients and this ensures better patient experience.
What to look for in outsourcing vendors
- HIPAA compliance: Since the patient data are all digitized, HIPAA compliance has become important due to privacy concerns over patient data. HIPAA regulates how BPO companies handle patient data. If any medical company or hospital or practitioners violate this law, they could face criminal charges with fines. So, it is important to ensure that the BPO service that you choose is HIPAA-compliant and have strict security measures in place to protect patient data.
- Measures for performance monitoring: Activities like healthcare management, billing etc. requires accuracy and any distraction can lead to mistakes that can risk the lives of the patients. So, performance monitoring of your BPO company is essential to know if they are focused and productive. There are several software products available today that provide performance monitoring. Similarly, quick turnaround time is also essential.
- Good healthcare expertise: Unlike other BPO companies, healthcare business process outsourcing services have to undergo stringent rounds of training to ensure accuracy and efficiency in what they do. So, make sure that the BPO provider has experts who are well-versed in medical codes and have medical department specific knowledge. Make sure to check online reviews, ratings and get referrals about the BPO company; and finally, check if they have an excellent track record that balances professionalism and cost.
According to an article published by Markets and Markets, the North America healthcare IT market size is projected to reach USD 239.9 billion by 2025 from USD 96.3 billion in 2019, growing at a CAGR of 16.4 percent by 2025. The driving factors of this growth are adherence to regulatory guidelines, government initiatives for eHealth, high return on investment (ROI), and increasing need to cut down the ever-rising healthcare costs. Another report by 3W Market News Report states that the CAGR of Global Healthcare Business Process Outsourcing Marketing is expected to go higher by 2025. This market study is a curation of important information related to competitors in the field, and the major market players and case studies of the global keyword market. The global Healthcare Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market report focuses on the major economies, various countries and continents all over the globe and parts which have the potential of growth of the global keyword market. This report provides an overall view of the industry with several perspectives. The key players in this market are Accenture, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Infosys, Genpact Ltd etc. On the basis of product type the market is divided into medical billing, medical coding, medical transcription and other provider services. On the basis of application, the market is split into Research and Development, Manufacturing and Non-Clinical Services.
A reliable and experienced business process outsourcing company allows healthcare providers to easily reach their goals without hassles related to documentation. By leveraging BPO capabilities, they can save time and money while increasing competitiveness and improving healthcare outcomes
