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11 Brilliant Ways Your Small Business Can Save Money

Posted: 20 Sep 2019 12:00 PM PDT

Nearly 20% of businesses fail in their first year, and 30% fail in their second year, according to Fundera. Don't let these statistics dissuade you from following your dream; instead, use them to help you make laser-focused decisions that will benefit your business – and your bottom line. 

While many business owners prioritize increasing sales, lowering expenses is just as important when you're trying to maintain profitability. Take a look at these 11 ways to reduce expenses and boost your small business's bank account balance. 

Don't pay for office space 

Many businesses are run remotely. If you are in retail, this tip might not apply to you. 

If you do not work in retail, consider staying mobile for as long as you can. When you sign a lease for office space, you will likely spend a lot of cash. You can convert a room or area in your home to office space. Not only can you save money on office rent, and you can write-off part of your rent or mortgage as a business expense. 

Buy used office equipment 

If you have a physical office space, consider purchasing used equipment. You can find everything from printers to office chairs at a fraction of the original price if you look online or visit used equipment stores. While new, shiny gear might be pretty, a bank account with a zero balance isn't. Only spend money on the items you absolutely need. 

Shop around 

Many service providers operate in highly competitive industries. You can use this to your advantage by shopping around for services, or even just telling providers that you plan to shop around. 

Insurance companies often offer bonuses or hefty discounts to customers who make the leap from their current insurer. The same goes for banks and credit unions that may waive fees or offer other perks. Not having to pay $10 each month in maintenance fees or getting $200 in free money for simply opening a new account is a pretty good deal. 

Also evaluate the value you're currently getting from certain services, such as your VPN provider. In some cases, a lean startup can protect numerous devices with a single account. 

Barter 

One of the very best ways a small business can save money is by bartering. Some debt is healthy, but you want to make careful decisions about the debt you take on. Nearly every small business is in the same position you are – they are short on money – which is why you should consider bartering for goods and services. 

Think about what your business does and how you could benefit another business by trading services. Each time you need a specific good or service, see if the company is willing to barter. It won't work every time, but it's worth a try. 

Use freelancers and contractors for noncore work 

Full-time employees cost employers a lot of cash these days. While ideally you will have a motivated and loyal staff, consider using independent contractors and freelancers for noncore work as you work to stabilize your business. Noncore work consists of areas or items that fall outside of your business's main activities or operations. HR services, accounting services, data processing are examples of work you could outsource.

Outsourcing these tasks is easy and can be less expensive than hiring traditional employees, provided you have an enforceable contract that clearly defines expectations to mitigate risks for both parties in the relationship. As an employer, you aren't expected to provide freelancers with family leave or time off with pay, retirement savings plans or health insurance benefits – you simply pay freelancers for their completed work. 

Volunteer to speak at industry events 

Try to impart your knowledge to others. One good way to do this is to speak at conferences or industry events. These opportunities act as simple and free ways to gain exposure for your brand and business and prove to others (i.e., potential clients) that you know your stuff. 

Consider communal advertising 

All small businesses know that marketing can be quite expensive. It can cost thousands of dollars before you see any return on investment. If you are in good standing with other local businesses, consider advertising with them. 

You could share mailing lists, distribution channels and suppliers with other small businesses. Is there perhaps a painter or house cleaning business that could recommend your business to their clients? Or if your business sells accessories for children, could you create a partnership with a photographer to promote your business?

Reduce paper use 

Cutting down paper waste is not only good for the environment, but it's good for your company's bottom line. There are myriad ways you can slash paper use, such as: 

  • Reusing paper for notes
  • Shrinking the font size of your printed reports to print fewer pages
  • Printing and copying documents so they are double-sided 

Do what you can to use less paper – most of the items you print end up in the trash. 

Use a smart or programmable thermostat 

If you have a brick-and-mortar office, you know how expensive heating and air conditioning can be. Yet, small changes in your office's temperature can negatively affect employees' productivity and customers' comfort.

One way to reduce your heating and A/C bills without compromising comfort is buying a programmable or smart thermostat. You can change the settings so the office is warmer or cooler during the weekends or certain times of day (evenings and mornings) when employees are not in the office.

Encourage word-of-mouth marketing 

Word-of-mouth marketing comes in several forms: referral programs that offer rewards to existing customers who refer new ones, college brand ambassador programs that pay students to rave about the company's products, online review directories like Yelp, and social sharing communities on digital media and Pinterest. Your word-of-mouth marketing strategy must take into account your audience, including key demographics, their buying habits, the apps they use to communicate with other consumers, etc. 

Buy in bulk (when it makes sense) 

The products sold at warehouse superstores can be tempting, but there are times when buying an item in bulk won't save you money.

Before you decide to purchase an item, first ask yourself: Does it make sense to buy this much of one item? If your office goes through a lot of coffee each month, go ahead and make the purchase. However, if you've slashed your paper usage in recent years, it may not save you in the long run to buy 1,000 reams of paper,  especially if you don't have the space to store it Moderation is key.  

Every business is different. Take a look at your current expenditures – it won't cost you a penny – and it could produce significant savings over time.

Actionable Advice for Driving More Traffic

Posted: 20 Sep 2019 11:00 AM PDT

Pretty much since the internet first became a thing, the challenge for businesses has been driving traffic. And it's a trial confronted by every sector, from the newest blogger to high-profile internationals, with 63% of businesses saying generating leads is their biggest marketing challenge. Because if content isn't seen it can have no inherent purpose, which makes the website null and void. There are numerous approaches to tackling the problem, but while there is a wealth of information and guidance available to ease the process, much of it is theoretical. This leaves businesses frustrated by the length of time it takes for them to make any discernible impact on the traffic reaching their websites.

But there are things that you can do to stay ahead of the game.

7 things you can do now to increase your website traffic

The list of things you could be implementing to improve your traffic is endless, but prioritizing those that are easily actioned is key to getting results, fast. Here are the top seven things you should be doing now:

  • CMS

  • Strategy

  • SEO and long tail keywords

  • Content topics

  • Quantity vs quality

  • Social media marketing

  • Tracking results

CMS

Content management systems (CMSs) are the primary reason why there are so many websites online today. They are what make it possible for people with zero tech knowledge to create a functioning presence online, beyond social media. They save businesses money – training a team member to operate a CMS is far cheaper than employing a qualified programmer – and are responsible for almost half the websites currently in operation. If you're looking for a fast and easy way to enhance your website's performance, a CMS is it. And there are numerous CMS platforms to choose from. 

WordPress is undeniably the leader in this area. Everyone has heard of it, even if they've never used it. It controls around 60% of the CMS market. And around 30% of all websites now run on it. This is largely due to the fact that it requires absolutely no coding, allows for complete design and control of your website, and provides handy advice as you go along – including whether your text is SEO-friendly. 

There are two options to consider with WordPress: WordPress.com and WordPress.org. With the former option, WordPress.com hosts your website for you and is free – although paid upgrades are available for more features. Your website will have a wordpress.com domain and it is worth noting that some plug-ins are unavailable. With WordPress.org the open source software is available for free. You will have to pay to host your domain elsewhere, but there is more opportunity to customize the backend of your website as all code is available. Your domain is also fully customized. 

Not quite as popular, commanding 6.7% of the market share, Joomla is the second most popular CMS platform. Meanwhile, Drupal comes in at third place, bagging 4.7% of the CMS market.

Strategy

One of the biggest mistakes made in the search for traffic is a lack of strategy. There are two categories of management technique that you want to avoid.

  1. The zero-strategy winging-it tactic.
  2. The strategy-hopping scatter-gun approach.

It's too easy to start on a project and flip between ideas simply because you're not getting instant results. This never works because nothing is instant. It's far better to try a couple of different avenues and give them time to bed in. Your options include:

  • Broadening your outlets. Add YouTube posts, podcasts, social media, and email marketing to your existing strategy, if you're not doing these already.

  • Creating, managing and using an email list. 

  • Publishing long-form content. This gets an average of 208% more shares than short articles.

  • Revisiting old posts. Most websites contain some below-par content. Links or information might be outdated. Your keywords may have changed. By revisiting and revising you can give your SEO an instant lift.

  • Paid-for marketing, such as Facebook ads or sponsored posts. This one isn't ideal unless you have a budget that can handle the additional expense. But if you hit the right note, it can deliver a strong ROI.

SEO and long tail keywords

The one thing that most people know about SEO is that you need to get the right keywords. But there's a lot of confusion about what they might be and how you might find them.

There's the difference between short tail and long tail keywords to navigate. In essence, the right short tail keywords will get you a high volume of traffic, while long tail keywords will bring you the right kind of traffic. Both options have their place.

Then there's on- and off-page SEO. Your on-page SEO is under your control and you can maximize its potential with incredible structured content, well-researched keywords and careful linking, among other things.

Off-page SEO refers to things that can be beyond your control, such as the sites that backlink to you, the amount of exposure you're getting on social media (you can influence this), and the domain authority given to you by search engines.

Content topics

The obvious thing about selecting blog topics for any website is that they need to be attractive and engaging for your target audience. You also need a killer headline that will hook at a glance. But how do you come up with all that? There are two ways.

  1. Research. Research your audience. Identify their needs. Organize the needs into topic clusters. Use your keyword research to pinpoint the topics that have a waiting market. Create.
  2. Use Ahrefs Content Explorer. It's a searchable database of over a billion web pages, which allows you to see which topics in your chosen niche are generating the most traffic. You can then appropriate the ideas and create something better.

Quantity vs. quality

This is a difficult balance to strike. For a website to rank with any search engine, it needs content in volume. But if that content is voluminous garbage, not only is it going to be picked up as such by the search bots, but anyone who does happen to visit your page is going to immediately lose interest. It's good practice to make quality your focus. So, go back to your content topics. Spend time getting that part right, then create a regular content schedule. According to Forbes, brands with a content strategy are 60% more likely to be successful than anyone else.

Social media marketing

Social media has become an integral tool for both marketers and their audience. When used well, it can engage and promote. Recent research showed that 59% of people access social media every day or most days. According to Statista, by 2021 the number of social media users worldwide is expected to reach about 3.1 billion people, and this is a lucrative market to leverage if you can get it right.

There are a multitude of platforms to share your content on to drive traffic. Facebook is still king when it comes to promoting blogs, with over 1.5 billion active monthly users worldwide. Here are the eight best social networking sites to start sharing on.

Tracking results

If you're not great with statistics, tracking marketing strategies can be daunting. But this is one step that you should never skip if you want your online business to succeed. How can you know if your strategy is working if you don't analyze it?

The good news is that with a wide array of analytics tools available, performance tracking is now pretty easy. You can compare the exact figures before and after your strategy began. If you want to be completely in control, you can even split test your campaigns/strategies to see where/if improvement is being made. The main questions you need to ask yourself are: is your strategy working, and have you tried it for long enough to generate real results?

With the internet economy worth $8 trillion, websites have never been more important. That's why it is so vital for SMEs to stay up to date with the latest techniques for keeping website traffic coming. Hopefully, at least some of the points in this post will help bring an influx of visitors to your website sometime soon.

8 Content Marketing Tasks You Should Automate

Posted: 20 Sep 2019 10:00 AM PDT

Businesses juggle many roles during the content creation process. However, they can significantly improve their efficiency by automating certain tasks. Currently, 75% of marketers use automation tools, and 91% consider automation critical to the overall success of their marketing programs. 

Automation saves marketers time and frees them up to focus on other important projects. Here are eight content-related tasks businesses can and should automate. 

1. Keyword research

While keyword research is crucial to developing a successful SEO strategy, it's time-consuming to do it manually. According to Catalyst Digital, keyword research for a medium-size website typically takes 12 hours. However, numerous tools reduce the amount of time keyword research requires, and they can improve the effectiveness of your overall SEO strategy.

SEMrush, for example, is software that identifies keywords, competitors' keywords, and long-tail keywords. Additionally, Ahrefs is an SEO tool that automates keyword research and provides backlink analysis, SEO site auditing, and alerts for keyword mentions. The tool also performs a content gap analysis, which helps marketers identify high-volume, low-competition keywords their competitors are ranking for, but that they do not rank for yet.

2. Proofreading

High-quality content is essential, and marketers will lose readers' trust with content that's rife with spelling and grammatical errors. One way marketing teams can save time is by automating the proofreading process.

Grammarly, for example, offers proofreading capabilities over word processors like Microsoft Word and Google Docs. The tool scans content and detects mistakes in spelling, grammar, word choice, punctuation, and style. Marketing teams can also use Grammarly's Google Chrome extension to catch errors in emails, social media posts, etc.

3. Email marketing

According to The Litmus 2017 State of Email Report, more than 68% of companies report that it takes at least one week to generate one email newsletter. The majority of companies report producing somewhere between one to five emails at a time, which means marketers spend a lot of time crafting emails. Automation can reduce the amount of time spent on email campaigns, allowing your marketing team to focus on other vital projects. 

Mailchimp, for instance, enables marketers to create campaigns that they can save and reuse later, and schedule emails at times for optimal open and click-through rates. It offers workflows based on specific triggers so recipients can get the right email at the right time. For example, marketing teams can automatically send an email thanking users when they sign up for the company's newsletter.  

For outbound lead generation, Buzzbuilder Pro is one of the best tools. The platform lets you create email outreach campaigns with scheduled follow-ups for increased personalization. It has several templates that are designed to save you time designing your emails, and it integrates with LinkedIn for multichannel outreach.

Editor's note: Looking for the right email marketing solution for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

4. Content promotion

A lot of work goes into creating content, and it doesn't stop once it's published. Marketers must promote content to ensure it gets in front of as many people as possible, but promoting content can take more time than creating it. Fortunately, there are a few tools to help marketers spread the word and reach their target audience.

Marketers can use HubSpot, for instance, to set and send automatic email notifications to subscribers about a new blog post. Outbrain is another content syndication tool that helps increase distribution by automatically pushing content across multiple top publishers.    

5. Social media monitoring

Managing and monitoring multiple social media channels such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn can be a big drain a team's time. It makes sense that nearly 80% of marketers cite social media management as one of the most suitable tasks for automation. There are many useful platforms and apps out there, depending on your goal.

Many tools incorporate multiple channels, with search and tracking options that provide insights on company mentions, competitors, and trending topics that can generate content ideas. Mention, for example, offers real-time monitoring and automatic notifications for brand mentions, competitor mentions, and industry-related keywords. Meltwater is a similar tool that uses artificial intelligence to provide brand insights and track competitors. Brandwatch Analytics is another comprehensive tool that tracks channels, hashtags, keywords and specific phrases. 

There are options targeting single channels, like Twazzup, which focus on real-time Twitter updates,  such as the latest trending tweets and influencers,  which is a great option for simple campaigns. Boardreader focuses on forums and messaging boards and gives users the ability to search conversations over the past two years. It can also generate charts about trends, compare terms from different sources, and provide insight on customer opinions from overlooked sources.  

6. Reporting

Reporting is vital; it helps you determine whether or not your content marketing strategies are working. Not all data is helpful, so marketers should create custom reports to measure specific goals. Sifting through metrics and generating reports can be time-consuming, however, some tools allow marketers to automate custom reporting.

Google Analytics, for example, automatically sends updates based on the data users choose. For example, marketers can set up custom reports to identify which content is driving the most traffic to their site or receiving the most engagement. Databox, an automation tool that integrates with HubSpot, pulls information from multiple analytics sources, including Google Analytics, Salesforce, HubSpot, and social media platforms. 

7. Workflow automation

Feedback transfer is a critical part of any marketing workflow. Multiple departments collaborate on marketing content, and there is a necessity to obtain feedback and approval from clients and managers. 

When these workflows are managed manually, it is easy to lose track of information and miss deadlines. Marketers should consider automating parts of their workflow, specifically approval reminders, to streamline the collaboration process and free up the marketing team's time. 

8. Team management 

With 70% of people globally working remotely at least one day a week, the dynamics of managing teams – and projects – are changing. Many companies are turning to technology to help them manage distributed teams. 

Asana and Monday.com are examples of easy-to-use project management tools that track and schedule tasks send automated notifications and email reminders. These tools have integrated chat systems that track work conversations for later reference, they integrate with other tools like Google Drive and Dropbox, plus they have phone apps for on-the-go-access. 

Time-tracking tools, like Toggl or Clockify, can help improve efficiency by determining where a team's time and energy are going. Tracking the time spent on tasks and reviewing the charts that these apps produce can help teams determine where introducing automation could boost productivity and what tools would be most helpful. 

Automation is crucial if you want your content marketing efforts to succeed

Every team is different and has its own needs and challenges. Every team also strives to increase its productivity, and with so many options out there, it's easier to automate certain tasks. It's time to take that first (or next) step and incorporate the most useful tools to free up time and energy.

The Basics of Medical Billing and Coding

Posted: 20 Sep 2019 09:45 AM PDT

  • It takes between 50 and 90 days after a claim is submitted for a medical practice to receive an insurance payment (excluding patient copays).
  • Healthcare providers usually don't receive the full amount they bill for and may receive as little as 50 cents on the dollar for each submitted claim.
  • Medical billers and coders should be certified by a well-respected organization such as the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) or the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).

Billing is essential to any business, but few must contend with the challenges associated with medical billing. Healthcare organizations are required to navigate a labyrinth of insurance payers, patient copays and regulatory requirements, which often leads to lengthy periods between services rendered and payment. In addition, most providers receive just a fraction of the money they bill insurance companies, making it nigh impossible to estimate when revenue is coming in and how much a practice can expect to receive.

Medical billing is complicated, so understanding the process is important for medical practices, clinics, and hospitals of all sizes and specialties. This guide provides you with a basic understanding of medical coding and billing, how healthcare organizations typically handle the process, and how technological tools, such as electronic health records (EHR) software and practice management software, can automate some aspects of the billing process.

What is medical billing and coding?

Coding and billing are separate but related processes that are central to securing payment for services rendered by a healthcare provider. When a patient visits a practice, they are generally required to provide their insurance information before being seen by a doctor. The front office often runs an insurance eligibility check to confirm that the patient is covered for the medical services they will receive.

Once a patient's insurance has been verified and they have been checked in at the practice, the provider-patient encounter begins. During the exam, the doctor will create a patient note that includes diagnoses and any orders for medications, lab tests or additional procedures. Once the patient's visit is complete, the healthcare provider finalizes that note and pushes it to a medical coder.

Medical coding

Although the patient might be required to supply a copay to the practice, the medical billing process has just begun. To get paid, medical practices must submit claims to the patient's insurance provider. Claims are generated by taking the information the healthcare provider recorded in the patient's note, capturing the charges and assigning specific codes that correspond with the treatment the patient received. Codes generally come from three sources:

  • The 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10), which is used to classify illnesses and diseases.
  • Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), which refers to specific medical services and procedures.
  • The Healthcare Common Procedure Coding Systems (HCPCS), which covers services and procedures not included within the CPT coding library.

Claims must be properly coded based on the services rendered during a patient encounter. The intent behind using codes to describe diagnoses, services and prescriptions is to provide a unified record that can be universally understood by healthcare facilities and insurers.

When a medical coder interprets a healthcare provider's notes, captures the charges and turns them into claims, they are creating what is known as a "superbill." Superbills contain patient information, the patient's medical history and all the coded claims associated with the encounter.

Medical billing

Once the superbill is generated, the coder hands it off to a medical biller. Billers are responsible for ensuring the superbill meets both legal and payer standards. Once a medical biller has reviewed the superbill and signed off on the claim, they generally submit the claim to a clearinghouse. Clearinghouses are third parties that "scrub" claims; that is, clearinghouses check the claim for common errors or formatting issues that often lead to rejection by payers. Since every payer has their own policies and preferences, these errors can vary depending on the insurance company ultimately responsible for paying the claim.

After checking and/or revising the claim, clearinghouses submit the claim to the payer. Payers then review the claim to determine whether it is compliant; this process is known as "claim adjudication." If the claim is accepted, the payer disburses some money (though not necessarily the full amount of the claim), which is sent to the healthcare provider (or the medical billing service that processes claims on the provider's behalf). If the claim is rejected, the payer sends it back to the healthcare provider or medical biller. Rejected claims can be revised and resubmitted to the payer for approval in a process known as "denial management."

Medical billing is a lengthy and challenging process

Naturally, this complicated process takes time. In fact, many medical practices don't see a dime (besides a patient's copay) for services rendered until up to 50 days after a claim has been submitted. In some cases, medical practices have outstanding claims for 90 days or longer. Further, once those claims are paid, a medical practice is not likely to receive the full amount it billed for in the claim.

"There's a lot of uncertainty as it relates to what services are being rendered and what exactly insurance will cover," said Dave Baxter, senior vice president at ACI Worldwide. "It's confusing. There's not a lot of clarity around what services were rendered, what insurance paid and when [a patient's] bill is due. From the provider's perspective … they're likely getting paid 50 cents on the dollar [for each claim they submitted]."

Healthcare providers, medical coders and medical billers have a tough job. There are numerous challenges with getting claims successfully adjudicated and paid. These roadblocks are baked into the system, and are obstacles that medical coders and billers must be wary of every time they manage a claim.

"There are many challenges in the billing process. It starts with eligibility. Many carriers say a patient is eligible when they may not be, which often results in claim denials," said Danielle Berlly, senior vice president of operations at Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology. "Sometimes, a carrier will pay a claim and later recoup the funds, saying they were not responsible. When this happens, it is often too late to bill the correct carrier … resulting in the practice not getting reimbursed."

Most other businesses do not have to contend with the realities of medical billing and coding. However, to operate a successful medical practice, there is no way around it. It's critical that your practice's staff can swiftly and effectively manage your revenue cycle. Otherwise, both your total revenue and cash flow will suffer.

 

Editor's note: Interested in outsourcing your revenue cycle management to a medical billing service? See our best picks. Fill out the questionnaire below to be contacted by our vendor partners for a consultation and quote.

 

Who is responsible for billing and coding at a medical office?

A successful coding and billing operation begins with experienced staff. Assembling a team of dedicated, knowledgeable medical coders and billers is a must for any healthcare organization. Who exactly is responsible for each step of the medical billing process?

  • Office staff: Staff members, particularly those responsible for patient registration, appointment-setting and insurance eligibility verification, are important components of the medical billing process. Their job is to capture accurate and up-to-date information about the patient and their insurance providers that medical billers rely on when submitting claims.
  • Healthcare provider: Doctors and nurses provide the clinical notes required for medical coders to generate claims and superbills. Accurate, easily understood notes make it easier for medical coders to generate claims that are likely to be accepted by payers on the first submission.
  • Medical coder: Professional medical coders are responsible for interpreting a provider's clinical notes to capture specific charges and then select the appropriate code associated with those diagnoses and procedures.
  • Medical billing specialist: Medical billers check to ensure claims comply with legal requirements and payer policies. They also add any relevant information about the patient and the encounter. Once a medical biller is finished reviewing each claim, they submit it to a clearinghouse for further scrubbing. Medical billers are also responsible for following up on unpaid claims and managing any claims denied by payers.

These roles might vary to a small degree across healthcare organizations. The process of each medical practice or hospital is somewhat unique, but, generally, medical billing is performed within this basic framework. The unique process in which each healthcare provider operates is known as their "workflow."

What certifications should medical coders and billers have?

If you're looking for a medical coder or biller to add to your team, your practice needs candidates that have the appropriate credentials. There are several medical billing specialist certificates out there, so knowing which ones demonstrate proven ability and a qualified skill set is essential to filling your open positions with top talent.

Groups like the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) or the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) are among the most respected medical coding organizations. Certifications from these organizations offer valid attestations of a medical coder's ability.

What is outsourced revenue cycle management?

If hiring your own medical billing specialist or coding professional proves too expensive or difficult, you could outsource your revenue cycle management to a medical billing service.

Medical billing services remove the burden of managing the billing cycle from healthcare providers. Often, medical billing services offer electronic medical records and practice management software, meaning they can access the relevant data stored within those systems to prepare insurance claims and appeal denials.

"[Outsourcing] may be a useful solution for practices that, for various reasons, may not require a full-time medical billing staff in-house," said Joseph Glaser, a nuclear medicine physician at Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology. "This may also help when, even if there is a need for full-time services, there may be specialized issues that an outside expert may be able to help navigate, whether in a full-time capacity or in consultation for issues as they arise."

Every medical billing service is different. For example, some handle the entire revenue cycle from coding to denial management. Others only handle billing and leave the coding to the practice. Costs also vary depending on your practice's specialty, billing volume and dollar value of claims. Generally, medical billing services charge a percentage of monthly or annual collections secured on your behalf.

The best medical billing services work with your practice's billing and practice management software, allowing you to see their progress in real time. Since you are outsourcing your practice's revenue cycle management to a third party, transparency is critical.

 

Medical billing is complex, but it doesn't have to be scary

Revenue cycle management is a complicated process that determines whether a healthcare provider sinks or swims. Since revenue and profitability are at stake, it's critical to get it right.

Hiring a medical billing specialist and professional coders can keep your in-house billing department rolling along smoothly. Another option is to partner with a proven medical billing service that maintains its own staff of professional coders and medical billing specialists.

Whichever method you choose, your goal should be to maximize collections and reduce the time claims spend in accounts receivable. It's easier said than done, but the goal is well within reach if you maintain good record-keeping and adhere to best practices.

Protecting Your Bottom Line From Data Breaches in 2020

Posted: 20 Sep 2019 06:00 AM PDT

IBM's annual Cost of a Data Breach Report is out, and the results align with what many people already know: Data breaches have not only become more common, they have also become more costly.

It's the continuation of a costly trend that's impacting companies and consumers with frightening regularity, and businesses that aren't planning to protect their data security aren't looking out for their customers' best interests or their own bottom lines. 

The report found that the average data breach will cost companies $3.92 million. Even SMBs, which operate with more modest budgets and more limited data sets, can expect upward of $2 million in expenses that continue to plague companies years after a data loss.

Of course, data breaches are a bottom-line issue in many ways. Consumer sentiment is quickly shifting toward accountability for data privacy, which means that the less quantifiable reputation cost is just one customer-facing consequence of a data loss event. At the same time, global regulatory bodies have begun holding companies accountable for that data security, increasing the importance of getting this right. 

Therefore, as we head into 2020, protecting the bottom line means understanding the risks of a data breach, and this information must lead to a comprehensive approach to data security that accounts for the most prominent risks. 

The many ways that data loss costs companies

In many ways, data is the most valuable resource of the digital age. It's the lifeblood of digital platforms that rely on this information to provide compelling, intuitive and seemingly magical online experiences. 

With 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created every day, it's also not in short supply. For decades, companies collected copious amounts of personal information with impunity. 

No longer. Today, company data sets are sitting ducks for criminals and bad actors, and this data loss is expensive, hitting a company's bottom line in several ways. 

1. Consumers demand data security. 

A data breach is bad for any company, but it most prominently impacts the customers who involuntarily lost control of their personal information. 

Customer information is often the prize of a data heist, and recent surveys show that consumers are unwilling to spend their money with companies that can't protect their personal data. For instance, 74% of Australians identified a company's data security initiatives as an important metric in their buying decisions, and 43% indicated that they would never return to a brand after a data breach. Globally, that number is even higher. A survey by Gemalto, the world's largest manufacturer of SIM cards, found that "a majority (70%) of consumers would stop doing business with a company if it experienced a data breach." 

To put it simply, for many consumers, forgiveness is not an option. Since consumers have little control over how companies manage, store and use their personal data, they are using their wallets to support platforms that promote data security. 

Clearly, this is terrible news for a company's bottom line. While major corporations like Facebook, Capital One and Equifax have faced significant blowback from data breaches, their deep pockets keep them afloat while they weather the storm. Many small and midsize businesses aren't so fortunate. A joint report issued by Cisco and the National Center for the Middle Market found that 60% of SMBs fail within six months of a data breach. 

In 2020, every company should strive to solidify their customers' confidence by putting their best foot forward with their cybersecurity initiatives. If not, many customers won't ever return after a data disaster. 

2. Regulatory bodies impose fines.

Privacy regulation is on the rise. Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the most expensive and recognized expression of this priority, but increased regulation is undoubtedly a global trend. 

More than 80 countries have data privacy regulation on the books. These laws strive to set a standard for data management, and they carry significant financial implications for companies that don't comply.  

In its first year, GDPR fines exceeded $57 million, a significant sum that looks small compared to this year's penalties. GDPR-specific fines can reach 2% to 4% of annual worldwide revenue, which means that any company doing business with a European national could face significant penalties for failing to protect their customers' data. British Airways, which paid the full 4% of annual worldwide revenue, was issued a $230 million fine for its data breach that impacted 500,000 customers. 

Of course, Europe isn't the only one extending fines and penalties. In July, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a $575 million settlement for credit monitoring company Equifax in response to the company's 2017 data breach that compromised the personal information of 140 million people.  

Collectively, fines for major corporations exceed $1.23 billion, making regulatory oversight a serious threat to any company's bottom line. 

3. Repair and restoration expenses rub salt in the wound. 

Despite a company's best response plans, recovering from a data breach is incredibly expensive. Depending on the nature of the breach, companies are on the hook for acquiring third-party security consultants, attaining new hardware and providing supportive services for customers impacted by the breach. 

Capital One, the latest large corporation to endure a data breach, expects to pay $150 million in credit monitoring services alone, with cascading costs continuing for years to come. 

Moreover, for companies working in tightly regulated sectors like healthcare, financial services and energy, the long-tail costs of a data breach can extend as companies pay to update their cybersecurity initiatives to address the cause of the data breach. Data breaches have financial implications from many angles that significantly threaten companies' bottom lines.

Fortunately, your organization isn't powerless when it comes to protecting customer data, and significant financial pain doesn't have to be lurking in your company's future. 

How to protect customer data

Data security is a daunting task for any company, to be sure. IT professionals have to be perfect, while cybercriminals and bad actors only have to get lucky once to wreak havoc on an institution's data. Therefore, every organization needs to pursue the right priorities to ensure their resources are directed at the appropriate vulnerabilities in an ever-changing threat landscape. 

In other words, focus on the most controllable elements of your cybersecurity initiatives. Insider threats, both accidental and malicious, contribute to a significant number of data loss events, and companies can mitigate these threats with software solutions. 

The 2019 Data Protection Report by Shred-it found that human error was the leading cause of data breaches in the legal sector, while 15% of U.K. employees would steal company data for as little as $1,260 and would sell intellectual property for $315 or less. 

Monitoring software with built-in automation can help companies control this data. These are some of its abilities:

  • Identifying employees who are likely to steal company data 

  • Restricting access to sensitive information, ensuring that all employees have access to company data on a strictly need-to-know basis 

  • Sending real-time alerts before a data loss event occurs 

Most importantly, these functions are automated, lessening the management burden for cybersecurity professionals while ensuring that your data landscape is accounted for. When coupled with endpoint data loss prevention software, monitoring software can give IT administrators a jump on emerging threats and position them to stop a breach before it occurs. 

External threats remain a prominent problem, but by focusing on internal threats, organizations address their most controllable security vulnerability, lessening the likelihood of a devastating data breach. 

Finally, implement top-down cybersecurity protocols to protect company data. Privileged users are as much of a risk as other employees, and, when it comes to protecting company data, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. 

Data breaches don't respect position or credentials, and everyone needs oversight to ensure that information is safe and secure. Notably, accidental breaches incited when employees click on phishing scams are shockingly common, and the right automated boundaries can defend against threats at every level. 

Closing thoughts

When IBM releases the 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report, it's likely to detail more escalating expenses for companies and their customers. It's clear that, to protect bottom lines in 2020 and beyond, data security has to be top of mind for every organization. 

Breaches cost companies on many fronts, and the risks never entirely dissipate. Don't let the immense challenge discourage action. Prioritize data security by focusing on the most controllable threats, and implement the security strategies that can mitigate those threats. 

Evaluate your cybersecurity initiatives, and take the steps to fully secure your company's data. Your bottom line depends on it. 
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