If you are the owner or manager of a healthcare organization, you know how important it is to have streamlined systems to support your team. Investing in the proper tools can be a valuable way to boost productivity and reduce stress in the office. But how much should you be spending on these improvements?

In a nutshell, it depends on your unique organizational needs. Some businesses need better computer systems; some need updated or new software, and some need better staff training practices.

However, one essential process that is often overlooked and can improve the bottom line is Release of Information (ROI) services. Processing requests, customer service, record review and delivery, and compliance are all issues that make ROI time-intensive. When considering the cost of time and materials for in-house ROI, it’s easy to see why outsourcing your ROI service is an excellent choice.

Fees for Transferring Medical Records

How much does it cost to transfer medical records? These fees are set by each state – not by ROI vendors. Additionally, each state has criteria for its fee structure, including request type, record page counts, and delivery method. Costs passed on to the healthcare organizations to perform ROI may include staffing, postage, and record printing – see below.

Typically, requesters such as insurance companies, attorneys, and even patients pay these state-mandated fees. ROI vendors (like RecordQuest) collect these fees and may share or not share the fees collected with healthcare organizations.

Additional ROI Costs to Consider

In addition to the medical record transfer fees, there are other costs associated with the ROI process. Healthcare organizations or their vendors are often paying for expenses such as:

Employees and Payroll: The cost of staff members to perform ROI can be high if not done correctly. You need people to receive, organize, review, process, and deliver records. In addition to the payroll costs, you also have other employee expenses such as payroll taxes, benefits, office space, employee equipment, and more.

Printing Supplies: Even though many offices use digital systems for managing medical records, it’s still necessary to print, scan, and copy documents. It gets expensive to pay for all of the supplies needed for printing, including paper, ink, toner, staples, folders, and more.

Transactional Fees: In a digital world, transactional fees are unavoidable. Most people want to pay by credit card or electronically, which means there are merchant services fees that you need to cover. These fees are a percentage of the transactions you are completing.

Postage Costs: If you send medical records by traditional mail (aka snail mail), you need to pay for the envelopes and postage (a cost that increases every year). The manual labor required to go to the post office and send the package is also often overlooked.

Legal Knowledge: It takes time and money to stay current with education, ensuring you are up-to-date on the relevant state and federal laws. The healthcare industry is constantly changing, making it hard for individual healthcare clinics to maintain relevance with the latest regulations.

Technology: Investing in hardware and software solutions is critical to organize and compliantly process medical records quickly. All practices and requirements must be HIPAA compliant and provide the highest level of security to protect patient information adequately.

Even though these expenses might seem minimal for a one-time record request, it is easy to see how they can add up quickly with a high enough request volume. Have you taken the time to add up your ROI-related costs for your healthcare organization? Analyze your data, and you may be surprised to see how much you are spending to manage record requests.

One cost-saving strategy is to leverage the services of an ROI provider. This investment will reduce the in-office workload and help your staff focus on what matters most – patient care. For more information, reach out to us to schedule a demo.