News: Majority of hospital leaders are considering outsourcing, survey finds

Ninety percent of hospital and inpatient organization leaders are considering outsourcing both clinical and non-clinical functions to achieve cost-efficiencies and succeed in value-based care models, according to a recent Black Book survey.

Survey respondents agreed value-based care models necessitate additional outsourced clinical services to free up resources for other activities, JustCoding reported. Hospital and inpatient organization leaders are mainly concentrating their outsourcing efforts on diagnostic imaging service lines, the survey found. Respondents selected teleradiology and medical imaging equipment as the most popular areas for clinical outsourcing partnerships.

Internal and external attitudes on outsourcing may be shifting as well, according to the survey. Roughly two percent of respondents felt outsourcing was an unthinkable option because of the expected reaction of staff, physicians, and the community, which was unchanged from a similar poll conducted by Black Book in 2017.

Outsourcing contracts, however, can now be structured to “not affect existing staff or may stipulate the retention of existing staff into the incoming outsourcing entity,” the survey stated.

When it comes to outsourced staff, many hospitals choose to supplement the coding department as well. According to a recent HCPro survey, half of respondents said at least some coding is outsourced. Of those who outsource coding, 33.1 percent outsource domestically and 12.7 percent contract with offshore companies.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in JustCoding. To read the Black Book Survey, click here. To read a Q&A on outsourcing CDI staff, click here.