8 Core Outsourcing Services for Medical Practices

Physicians are expected to juggle expert clinical care with increasingly complex operational responsibilities in today’s high-pressure healthcare climate.

Healthcare outsourcing has evolved as a trusted strategy to relieve administrative burdens, improve access to specialized expertise, cut costs, and enhance service delivery, enabling providers to stay focused on their patients.

This article presents a comprehensive, evidence-driven exploration of healthcare outsourcing, outlining essential and advanced services, strategic benefits, risks, and the roadmap to selecting ideal outsourcing partners.

Why healthcare outsourcing is transforming modern medicine

Understanding more about how healthcare outsourcing transforms modern medicine can help you determine whether this resource is right for your practice.

What is healthcare outsourcing?

Healthcare outsourcing involves a medical organization contracting with third-party agencies to complete operational, administrative, or technology tasks. 

Examples include claims processing, data entry, medical billing, 24/7 customer services, IT support, telemedicine platform management, and more to leverage expertise from external providers to enhance efficiency, reduce overall costs, and optimize service quality.

Medical practices can outsource offshore (outsource tasks to companies in other countries), nearshore (outsource to neighboring countries), or onshore (same country). 

The rise of healthcare BPO

Healthcare business process outsourcing (BPO) has been on the rise, driven by numerous factors, such as a higher demand for cost reduction, increased efficiency, and specialized expertise in automation, AI, and more. 

BPO allows medical agencies to focus on patient care and other core competencies while outsourcing non-core functions.

Forecasts anticipate continued increases in the demand for healthcare BPO in the United States, India, the Philippines, and beyond.  

Core vs. advanced services

Core outsourcing services differ from advanced services. Many medical practices use the “big 8” core services, while the eight advanced services are often helpful for specialized and scaling practices. 

The big 8 core outsourcing services in healthcare

Here are the big 8 outsourcing services often used in medical practices.

Medical billing and coding

Medical billing and coding are part of revenue cycle management (RCM), encompassing administrative and financial activities related to patient revenue. 

Outsourcing medical billing and coding helps reduce errors, ensure compliance, improve efficiency, save time and money long term, optimize cash flow, and maximize overall financial health. 

Claims processing

Outsourcing claims processing includes submission management, denial prevention, automation, and real-time adjudication. This approach offers faster processing and reimbursement, improved overall efficiency, and optimal cash flow. 

Patient access and communication

Need easier patient access and communication? Consider outsourcing these services via medical call centers, front desk support, triage, scheduling, after-hours coverage, and 24/7 multilingual support to optimize patient satisfaction and retention while freeing medical staff. 

Health IT and data operations

Health IT is a key component of efficient medical services. Examples of core IT and data operations outsourcing services include:

• EHR/EMR integration
• Data security
• Cloud infrastructure
• Compliance management
• Digital documentation
• Data entry
• Tech interoperability
• Support tools that ensure practice efficiency while maintaining HIPAA compliance

Telemedicine enablement

Nearly all modern medical practices offer telemedicine services, a considerable advantage since many patients prefer this convenient method of visiting with providers.

Outsourcing telemedicine enablement offers platform staffing and monitoring, virtual medical assistants and scribes, and patient-facing technical support.

Clinical service extensions

Many medical practices outsource clinical service extensions, such as medical transcription, voice recognition tools, remote lab and imaging coordination, clinical decision support, and AI applications. Customize services to match your practice’s specific needs.

Outsourced human resource operations

Don’t have time to handle human resources tasks? Consider outsourcing recruitment, credentialing, and onboarding operations, as well as payroll, time tracking, benefits management, HR compliance, employee development, and similar HR services. 

Provider credentialing services

Other outsourcing areas include provider credentialing services (licensing, enrollment, monitoring support, and more). 

The 8 advanced and specialized outsourcing services

Advanced or specialized outsourcing services your practice may take advantage of include:

Compliance and risk management

Consider outsourcing compliance and risk management services, such as HIPAA audits, OSHA compliance, legal reviews, and more. This will allow providers to focus more on patient care while ensuring compliance with laws and regulations. 

Legal services

Have legal counsel available via outsourcing to ensure regulatory compliance, complete contract reviews, and offer malpractice defense. 

Data analytics and business intelligence

Data analytics and business intelligence can help your practice thrive or expand when you outsource experts in dashboards, predictive forecasting, key performance indicators (KPIs) reporting, and similar services. 

Prior authorization and eligibility verification

Outsourcing prior authorization and eligibility verification can streamline insurance workflow, reduce claims denials, and enhance payment efficiency. 

Clinical research support

Clinical research support tasks that outsourcing can help with include patient recruitment, research support, streamlined and simplified processes, data entry, patient monitoring, regulatory compliance, and more. 

Document management and scanning

If you have physical documents, outsourcing document management, scanning, digitization, indexing, and archival solutions can save you time and money in the long run. It allows providers to spend more time focusing on patient care. 

Marketing and digital strategy

Want to get the word out about your practice or expand? 

Consider outsourcing companies specializing in digital marketing strategies, such as search engine optimization (SEO), online reputation enhancement, social media marketing, web development, and other strategies to better familiarize the community with your practice and services.

Telehealth platform management

If your healthcare practice offers telehealth services, consider outsourcing the management of your telehealth platform. 

This may include overseeing regulatory compliance, the platform’s technical components, operations, remote care delivery, and UX optimization to improve the overall user experience, patient satisfaction, and patient retention.  

Tangible benefits of outsourcing in healthcare

Some of the potential tangible benefits outsourcing may offer in healthcare include:

Financial and operational gains

Practices may realize cost and operational efficiencies by outsourcing locally or offshore. You could save on direct costs (infrastructure, labor, etc.).

While offshore outsourcing may be less expensive and offer 24/7 or multilingual support opportunities, local outsourcing could provide more effective communication, strict adherence to privacy regulations, and better cultural understanding. 

Choose the type of outsourcing that offers the best return on investment (ROI) and matches your practice’s specific needs while ensuring optimal patient care and satisfaction. 

Improved patient experience

Another perk of outsourcing operational tasks within a medical practice is a better patient experience associated with faster service, efficient communication, transparency, real-time updates, cultural sensitivity, and multilingual access. 

Clinical and administrative efficiency

Outsourcing administrative tasks can improve efficiency and lead to fewer errors, less rework, reduced stress, increased scalability, service consistency, and an enhanced provider focus on core medical services.

Risks and considerations when outsourcing

Potential risks and other things to consider when deciding whether or not to outsource include:

• Data security and HIPAA risks
• Quality control and oversight
• Misalignment in culture or service standards
• Vendor reliability and business continuity planning
• Managing multi-vendor ecosystems

Overcome any possible challenges by thoroughly researching potential outsourcing providers before establishing a partnership. 

Selecting a strategic outsourcing partner

Consider the following before selecting the right strategic outsourcing partner for your medical practice. 

Due diligence and evaluation criteria

Do your due diligence when evaluating the potential effectiveness of healthcare outsourcing partners, such as Change Healthcare, Flatworld Solutions, Staffingly, and others. 

Ensure HIPAA readiness and compliance, certifications, audits, and superior online customer reviews. 

Contractual clarity and long-term fit

Agree on contractual clarity (service level agreement) after determining if an outsourcing service is a good match. 

Contracts should set clear expectations for service performance expectations, quality, accountability, escalation protocols, deliverable timelines, and remedies for potential service failures. 

Ensure budget alignment, agreed-upon price models, customization to your practice’s unique needs, scalability potential, and more. 

Launching and managing the relationship

Launching and managing partnerships with healthcare outsourcing providers involves establishing onboarding timelines, training alignment, clear communication, KPIs, reporting dashboards, optimization, review structures, and more to achieve the desired result and maintain a long-lasting relationship.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Consider the following frequently asked questions about medical practice outsourcing services. 

What are the most commonly outsourced services in healthcare?

Based on scientific research, the most commonly outsourced healthcare services directly affecting patient care in hospitals include radiology, emergency medicine, environmental services, and lab services. 

Information technology, laundry, and cybersecurity are common non-clinical services that are commonly outsourced. However, the specific type of outsourcing used varies from practice to practice. 

Is medical billing outsourcing secure and HIPAA compliant?

HIPAA compliance can be supported through collaboration with reputable vendors with appropriate safeguards. However, practices should independently verify compliance credentials and data protection protocols.

How can outsourcing improve patient care?

Outsourcing can improve patient care by allowing medical providers to focus more on caring for their patients than attending to administrative duties. 

What should I look for in a healthcare BPO provider?

Consider your budget when determining the proper healthcare BPO to meet your practice’s needs. Look for a provider with industry experience, exceptional client reviews, substantial compliance, and robust technology, security, and accuracy. 

Prioritize HIPAA compliance and choose a partner with reputable experience handling protected patient health information with reliable, certified technology. 

Can small practices benefit from outsourcing, too?

Smaller practices can benefit from outsourcing when the services they choose fit within their budget, are high-quality, and provide a significant ROI. 

Key takeaways

• From administrative relief to competitive differentiation, outsourcing—when done correctly—delivers measurable, scalable, and patient-focused outcomes.
• Best practices in healthcare now include strategic outsourcing. Organizations that embrace it thoughtfully are best positioned to lead.