Outsourcing - What's the Big Deal?
Today's New York Times article on outsourcing by the State Department should be no surprise. Outsourcing, business process outsourcing, smart sourcing - whatever you want to call it, contracting out services is a business mainstay and fundamental.
Healthcare is no different, though of course few people like to talk about. Privacy concerns abound. The reality is there's not much privacy to begin with and outsourcing will continue to grow.
In healthcare, offshore outsourcing is commonly used for claims processing, customer service, medical transcription and billing services. However, as certain clinical areas experience talent shortages amidst rising demand, healthcare providers are looking for more outsourcing solutions.
According to research firm IDC, nearly $322 million was spent on offshore healthcare services in 2005. They project a 79% increase to $575 million in 2008.
According to public data, among those managed care organizations that do offshore outsourcing are Aetna, BCBS Michigan, BC of N. PA, Cigna, Coventry, Horizon BCBS, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Regence Group, United Health, WellCare, Wellpoint/Anthem and others.
According to U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports, 19 percent of Medicare Advantage contractors do offshore data transfers as part of outsourcing. Four percent of Medicare FFS contractors do so, and 2 percent of state Medicaid agency contractor vendors do so.
Posted by Shawn Whalen on October 24, 2007 at 12:01 PM
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