10 Reasons Therapy Practices are Outsourcing Compliance for the Clinic

Therapy practices are looking to manage the income crisis, annual payment cuts from Medicare and other administrative burdens with creative and smart strategies. As a result, therapy practices have started taking dramatic action to change directions and control operating costs by outsourcing key functions. The primary reason this trend is gaining popularity is because technology has finally delivered an advantage for practice owners.

Most practices simply can’t afford to have in-house counsel or a full-time compliance officer dedicated to their operational services. While the Office of Inspector General (OIG) offers advice to practices in order to help guide what is necessary and meaningful in a compliance program (https://oig.hhs.gov/compliance/compliance-guidance/), the obvious problem is that every practice is different and unique so deciding exactly how to structure a program and where to allocate resources is a bit complicated. Historically, therapy practices would pick an employee to wear the compliance hat and wish them well on their journey. The hidden cost for this option is time, quality, and execution. The level of compliance expertise needed to properly serve as a compliance officer is often missing with a “promoted employee.” Add in the expense of a salary plus benefits to a staff member who may not have the skill set and experience to address compliance concerns, and what you have is simply a poor investment and limited results.

Environmental change:

Therapy practices in outpatient private practice have a new and exciting compliance resource to jump start operations immediately with exceptional compliance content, necessary auditing tools and ongoing compliance guidance to help ensure that a meaningful compliance program is in place. Worried about the complex, changing regulatory world that impacts your practice? Just outsource the position to Risk & Compliance Analytics.

By the Numbers:

The 2022 annual survey results from the nationally recognized Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) reports that the average total compensation for healthcare compliance officers is between $153,000 to $179,00 per year (https://assets.hcca-info.org/portals/0/PDFs/Resources/Surveys/hcca-2022-salary-survey.pdf). Who has that kind of extra money to spend?

Below are the top 10 reasons why Therapy Practices are outsourcing their Compliance Officer position:

1. The need for Therapy-Specific Compliance Experience

2. Time to Cut Expenses

3. Highest Quality of Service in terms of Efficiency and Professionalism

4. Degrees, Credentials and Certifications

5. Accessibility 24/7

6. Clear Communication with Complex Compliance Issues

7. Team Approach

8. In depth knowledge of Property and Casualty Insurance Risk Management

9. A Reputation of Proven Success

10. Private Equity Due Diligence

Time to cut expenses:

Save money by avoiding the cost of hiring and training, HR expenses as well as the salary plus benefits associated with an employee solution; simply outsource your compliance officer position. The outsourced compliance officer function empowers a therapy practice to retain the level of expertise on a limited-time basis. Only pay for what you need! All of the complexities of building and managing a therapy compliance program will be solved without the financial burden that has generally been accepted throughout the years. Already have a compliance program? Upgrade and get the most enhanced outpatient therapy-specific reference materials and content on the market. Why pay an employee weeks or months of salary to create content when they can simply access customized and, most importantly, annually updated content for a fraction of the cost.