Applied Behavioral Therapy (ABA) is a popular form of therapy focusing on adapting behavior to real-life situations. ABA therapy is still quite new, but so far, it has proven to be effective for many people. With clinics springing up across the country, we look at some of the pitfalls and the best ways to make an ABA clinic successful in the short term and supportive of clients in the long term.
New ABA business
When starting a new ABA business, it’s important to serve the clients well since a new ABA business will succeed or fail based on those early reviews. The last thing you need is complicated billing issues getting in the way of your workflow, so it’s best to outsource your ABA billing until you can establish cash flow, client lists, and quality of service in the business.
Business growth
An ABA clinic is the same as any business; you must build solid foundations in the early stages and look to grow and establish yourself as soon as possible. This is easiest when your employees can focus on their strengths and skill sets and have less administrative work. Outsourcing your billing allows you to streamline the workforce and get the best results early on.
Billing errors
Whether it’s a traditional clinic or an ABA clinic, billing errors and denials from insurance companies can cost your business thousands of dollars. Denials and billing errors not only cost you money but also occupy time and energy in your workforce, leading to inefficiencies in the business. Outsourcing your billing services can reduce the number of errors and save time.
Employee absences
When you hire employees for your ABA clinic, it might seem sensible to assign billing tasks to them since they’re already being paid, but this can lead to several inefficiencies, especially when it comes to absences. Handling billing takes their minds off the clinic’s work and sets them (and the clinic) back when they take time off. Outsourcing billing means you can consistently guarantee the billing effort.
Slow revenue
As with any business, an ABA clinic must always be efficient and organized to ensure success. An ABA clinic is especially vulnerable in the early days, and slow revenue from technical issues, denials, and errors can cost your business dearly. Outsourcing ABA billing protects your business from cash flow issues in the early days. These cash flow issues could threaten the entire business.
Staffing issues
Staffing issues are also worth considering when setting up a new ABA clinic. Professional staff in the clinic is important, but you might have hired them for their therapy skills, not administrative skills. This is another excellent reason to outsource ABA billing. Doing so means you don’t have to send staff members to expensive training; instead, you have a professional billing team.
Work demands
Again, you might think it’s cheaper and more straightforward for your in-house staff to manage the billing processes, but consider how much your staff members cost the business. When you include their salaries, social security, and expenses, not to mention efficiency losses, it’s clear that outsourcing your ABA billing can be a less expensive way to support the business early on.
Billing costs
The true cost of billing is not always evident; it exists within the inefficiencies of an ABA clinic. If your therapists are working on administrative tasks or attempting to resolve insurance disputes, they’re not serving your clients and earning money for the business. The only way to streamline the business and see your true profit margin is to outsource billing to professionals.
Billing system
ABA billing services are popular because ABA clinic owners and employees have different skill sets. Therapists want to pursue a career that is hands-on with clients; most won’t be interested in the administration side of the business. Outsourcing billing is an effective way to play to the business’s strengths and ensure that cash flow remains healthy, especially in the early days of your ABA business.
Stress reduction
Working as a therapist is rewarding, but it isn’t easy. Depending on the type of client you have and the type of therapy you provide, clinic owners and employees can run out of energy and crash. When you have additional administration work as well, it leads to inefficiencies, mistakes, and losses. Outsourcing ABA billing and other tasks removes some of the stress.
Conclusion
ABA therapy is an excellent way to transform your life quality using therapeutic techniques in real-world situations. Still, working closely with a qualified therapist is important for the best results. ABA clinics should seriously consider outsourcing their billing to protect their cash flow and build their reputation by serving clients with the most qualified ABA therapists without worrying about billing.