Updated on March 9, 2022 by Jordan McGlone
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It is not exactly a secret that healthcare is expensive, and health care costs are continuing to rise. As a result, healthcare outsourcing is being seen as an increasingly viable strategy. According to published statistics, the average cost of health insurance in 2020 per month was $1,152 for a family and $456 for an individual. Unfortunately, these costs will only continue to rise. A number of short-term factors, such as the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic strife (such as inflation), have led to increased expenditures that could result in rising insurance premiums and expenses. As a result, healthcare organizations are looking for ways to save money, and this could include outsourcing.
Why Is Healthcare Outsourcing Becoming More Viable?
In the past, hospital systems and medical centers may not have dreamed of outsourcing their services; however, this has become a viable option for a number of reasons. They include:
- Business outsourcing processes have changed, leading to a reduction in costs and more reliability from service providers.
- Digital medical delivery models have been implemented, making it easier to administer healthcare across any distance.
- Data security has improved, making it possible to share protected patient information between covered entities and service providers, when needed.
For these reasons, many healthcare systems are exploring the possibility of using outsourcing to control the rising costs associated with the services they provide.
Why Are Healthcare Companies Considering Outsourcing Now?
Market pressure is causing healthcare companies to look for ways to urgently reduce their overhead expenses. Some of the reasons why healthcare companies are thinking about outsourcing some of their services now include:
- There is an increasing demand for niche diagnostic and treatment services, which can be expensive for healthcare companies to maintain on their own.
- Both competition and costs associated with research and development are increasing.
- More stringent regulations are leading to regulatory liability, so healthcare companies are more motivated to outsource services to specialized professionals.
As these pressures increase, expect outsourcing to become more widespread.
What Healthcare Services Can Be Outsourced?
There are several examples of healthcare services that can be outsourced. They include:
- Healthcare companies can outsource manufacturing to make it easier to control the costs associated with making new devices.
- Healthcare companies can also outsource their responsibilities related to electronic medical records (EMR) management to ensure that confidential information is protected and that compliance is maintained with all relevant privacy regulations.
- Healthcare organizations can also outsource tasks related to new research to reduce expenses related to research reagents, equipment, and data analysis.
These are just a few of the many examples of services that hospital systems and healthcare companies may want to outsource.
What Are the Benefits of Outsourcing in the Healthcare Field?
There are a number of significant benefits healthcare companies may enjoy if they decide to outsource certain products and services. They include:
- Outsourcing provides access to specialists and professionals in certain fields at a lower cost.
- By outsourcing services to specialists in this area, processes can become more efficient and productive.
- Outsourcing to a specialist in certain areas can dramatically improve patient experiences, patient care, and patient outcomes. When healthcare companies work with companies that specialize in certain areas, they get access to staff members who are more comfortable performing these tasks. This leads to better results.
- Outsourcing makes it easier to scale certain resources. For example, if a hospital needs to run certain tests, they can outsource these tests to an organization that performs them regularly instead of having to purchase all the equipment on their own.
- Healthcare companies that outsource to specialists in certain areas work with professionals who are familiar with all rules and regulations. This reduces regulatory liability.
- Hospital systems can also reduce the amount of time they spend doing mundane, administrative work by outsourcing these tasks to specialists who perform them more efficiently.
Ultimately, the biggest benefit of outsourcing in healthcare is that it can both improve outcomes and reduce expenses. With many hospital systems looking for ways to provide better patient care at a lower price, expect outsourcing in the healthcare field to become more common in the near future.
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