Hiring and keeping administrative staff is hard for many practices. Virtual staffing, where trained team members work remotely in your systems, can fill gaps without a long hiring process. It suits some situations better than others.
What virtual staffing is
Virtual staff are remote team members who work on tasks you assign, usually through a staffing partner that recruits, trains and supports them. It differs from outsourcing a whole function: your team sets the priorities, and the virtual staff work alongside them.
When it makes sense
- Hiring is slow, or local candidates with billing experience are scarce.
- Turnover keeps resetting your training effort.
- Work is piling up: eligibility checks, claim follow-up, posting or patient calls.
- You are growing and need capacity before full-time local hires make sense.
- You need cover for particular hours or busy seasons.
When it may not be the right fit
- The work needs someone physically in the office.
- Your processes aren’t written down yet, and nobody has time to train.
- Nobody on your team can assign the work and review it.
In these cases, fix the process first, or consider handing over the whole function instead.
Roles that work well remotely
- Insurance eligibility and benefits verification
- Prior authorization requests and follow-up
- Charge entry and payment posting
- Claim follow-up and A/R calls
- Denial management and appeals
- Scheduling, appointment reminders and patient calls
- Credentialing support
Setting virtual staff up to succeed
- Access and security: give access only to the systems each person needs, make sure the staffing partner signs a business associate agreement, and require secure devices and connections.
- Clear procedures: written steps for each task, including payer-specific notes.
- A point person: someone on your team who answers questions and reviews work.
- Agreed measures: for example, eligibility checks completed before visits, or claims followed up each day. Review them regularly.
- Regular communication: a short weekly check-in and a shared channel for questions.
Compare the full cost
Compare the full cost of a local hire, including salary, benefits, recruiting, training, turnover, equipment and space, with the staffing partner’s fee. Count the cost of an open position too: work that waits while you hire still has to be done.
Ace’s virtual staffing service provides trained remote staff for billing, coding, payment posting, A/R follow-up, credentialing support and administrative work, and scales with your practice.