Private practice: Experiences with hiring an assistant vs. using a billing service?

[roastedcapers]

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Please share if you are open to that, especially if you have considered or used both. I am thinking of switching from billing service to hiring my own assistant. Thank you.

 

[Sushirolls]

I have a billing service and am thinking/starting to switch over to using Luminello integrated billing. I believe the amount of middle man she has done with our billing workflow to getting documents to the billing company and random insurance follow ups have prepared her well for this coming transition.

I anticipate a lower overhead work flow and time saving for employee job duties. Let you know how it goes.

 

[roastedcapers]

Hey Sushirolls, maybe you already researched this and found what works for you, but if not, you might consider doing a demo with Valant, Dr Chrono, and/or NextGen to get a sense of all the billing software they have built into the EHR compared to Luminello, like all kinds of analysis and tracking features, auto-filling claims, notifications of rejections and why, ERA posting. I don't think Luminello has all that stuff, or at least my cursory attempt at using its billing feature on my own seemed to lack automation compared to those other systems. (That said, I might just not have researched it thoroughly enough).

As far as billing service vs. assistant... I think for me the price will be similar over the long term... here are the pros and cons I have established:


Assistant:

Pros
- More personal connection
- Can customize to exactly what's needed
- Can adjust hours as needed, if finding someone who is flexible with that
- Can get the EHR with the most automation possible and therefore use assistant for fewest hours possible on most useful tasks, rather than hiring a billing service which might do some stuff my EHR already does but add expense
- No middle man = in theory, better rates for me and the individual
- Practice hiring W2 employee in case I want to expand practice in future

Cons
- They might quit, which would be a big time expense to hire someone new, and might have gap in coverage, or if it doesn't work out, finding someone new is a hassle
- What else?


Billing service:

Pros:
- Ensures continuity of coverage
- Not having to do all the stuff required to have W2 employee

Cons:
- More impersonal
- Less customizable
- Less control over how the work is done
- Possibly does not lend itself as well to setting stage for future group practice


Other thoughts?