How to Maximize Productivity and Efficiency
Medical coding is essential to the financial health of hospitals and health systems, translating patient care into billing codes that ensure proper reimbursement. However, the current labor market reveals a 30% shortfall in qualified coders, making it increasingly difficult for healthcare providers to recruit and retain skilled and credentialed coders.
This gap has profound implications. The shortage leads to backlogs, delayed claim submissions, and errors in coding, all of which can significantly hamper revenue streams. Medical coding errors account for 42% of claims being denied, directly impacting healthcare institutions’ financial stability. The result is a cycle of delays and reduced reimbursements that contributes to burnout among the remaining staff and further exacerbates the workforce challenge.
A Global Solution with the Advantage of Time
As the demand for medical coders outpaces supply, U.S. healthcare organizations are finding hope in outsourcing as a viable solution, with offshore coding solutions providing distinct advantages.
One of the standout benefits of offshore coding is the time zone advantage. While U.S. healthcare providers sleep, offshore remote teams like those provided by Shearwater Health are hard at work and able to pick up and continue working end of day stateside issues to maintain forward momentum.
This around-the-clock operation ensures a seamless workflow, significantly boosting productivity and reducing Discharged Not Final Billed (DNFB) rates, where bills are incomplete because of coding gaps that can otherwise be addressed by teams available at all hours. Therefore, a cyclical, ongoing coding process can keep the revenue cycle moving efficiently, providing a reassuring sense that every hour is maximized for operational success.
Improved Quality and Productivity
Medical coding backlogs can pose significant challenges, particularly when healthcare staff is scarce. A backlog, which often refers to records, cases, and bills that must be coded within a specific timeframe, can hit cash flow and revenue.
Remote medical billing strategically addresses these backlogs, allowing current on-site coding staff to focus on learning new skills, enhancing their productivity and job satisfaction. With the burden of routine tasks lifted, on-site coders can specialize in specific areas or broaden their expertise to handle a variety of cases, which opens up opportunities for them to move into auditing and clinical documentation roles.
Success in this model hinges on robust communication and ongoing education. This includes regular training sessions and updates, as well as open lines of communication between offshore and onshore teams. These measures help to maintain high standards of quality and accuracy, ensuring that all team members are up to date with the latest coding practices and guidelines. By tapping into a global talent pool through partnerships with organizations like Shearwater Health, healthcare providers can manage their coding needs more effectively and benefit from a more skilled and versatile workforce.
Medical Coding with Shearwater Health
Shearwater Health is dedicated to addressing the medical coding shortage by providing highly skilled certified coders. Our unique approach begins with recruiting allied health and nursing professionals who have a healthcare background. This means that our coders have a deep understanding of the healthcare industry and its terminology, which makes their transition to coding more seamless and efficient. Through partnerships with industry leaders in education, we offer a robust training process that includes skilled coding trainers, rigorous online courses, and real-life case scenarios, thoroughly preparing our scholars for the coding certification exam.
All Shearwater coders are 100% certified through AHIMA or AAPC, ensuring the highest standards of professionalism and expertise. We boast 99% client satisfaction and 96% accuracy rates, as verified by independent third-party quality audits. Our team is experienced with various systems and platforms and capable of processing multiple types of charts, regardless of complexity. Moreover, we adapt to volume spikes effortlessly, ensuring that backlogs are never an issue.
Shearwater Health stands out by combining expertise, rigorous training, and flexibility to meet the dynamic needs of healthcare providers. Our unwavering commitment to quality and client satisfaction makes us a reliable partner in dealing with the many complexities of medical coding, instilling confidence in our solution.
