2023 Strategic Revenue Cycle Planning – 3 Part Series: The real cost of hiring an employee vs. partnering with outsourced RCM staff

New Year is here, and it is time to analyze what worked, what did not, and how to make better strategic decisions for your revenue cycle management.

Our first article discussed the pros and cons of full-time employees, temporary workers, and outsourced staff. Our second article (2) looked at the continuing trend of staff great resignation while trying to attract more patients. And our third article will explore the actual cost of hiring and keeping an in-house employee versus outsourced revenue cycle management staff.

There are three huge potential pitfalls that Revenue Cycle HealthCare management should account for when considering  the use of in-house employees:

1. Cost of Recruiting

According to new benchmarking data, the average cost per staff level hire was nearly $4,700. Many HR managers estimate that it is far worse, sometimes three to four times higher.

With that in mind, if you have an open position for $80,000 a year, the actual cost of recruiting could be as high as $25,000.00. How? There are hard costs to consider, but about 60-70% are soft costs. Tasks like screening applications, scheduling rounds and rounds of interviews, multiple team members, and management meetings with multiple potential candidates, and only then making final decisions to find out that your ideal candidate declined the offer – all of that takes away time from your ROI.

2. Operating Expenses

Operational expenses are part of the bigger picture for your healthcare organization. Costs like hiring highly trained professionals, paying overtime, taxes, and employee benefits, plus the loss of productivity during vacation and sick days.

3. Staff Turnover

Frequent voluntary turnovers, currently known as the Great Resignation, will negatively impact lower morale, decreased productivity, and, ultimately, your budget.

On the other hand, partnering with a trusted outsourced RCM organization will allow you to shift the above responsibilities to another party and let you get back to work. Your organization will most likely see lower costs, fewer mistakes, improved compliance, and ultimately happier patients.  

Lori Intravichit, CEO of Sunlit Cove Healthcare, said:

Outsourcing is not a scary or bad word. It has to ultimately work for your organization. The key is to evaluate the use of a business partner is a review of your financial goals and the determination of the real cost of continuing to recruit and staff fulltime employees

Sunlit Cove Healthcare team can speed collections, identify revenue opportunities, control denied claims, and add scalability and revenue cycle automation. We look at each process and identify possibilities as opposed to one size fits all strategy. We provide revenue cycle management services on a continuous or as-needed basis for a reasonable rate. No need to hire staff as volumes shift with the constantly changing environment. Contact us or give us a call at (727) 278-3009 to get started.
Start today and schedule your free process review!

Sunlit Cove Healthcare Consultants

We provide management and consulting services to help healthcare businesses run efficiently. Navigating the dynamic and complex revenue cycle management is a challenge for many health plans, health care vendors, and providers. Our consulting services are available to assist with your day-to-day operations and provide expertise in growth and change management. We manage all aspects of your enterprise from the development of the revenue cycle management process to the completion of your business cycle.

Revenue Cycle Interim Management: