Global Delivery

Global Delivery

If you’re in healthcare, you know that our industry is facing unprecedented challenges – from high operating costs to labor shortages. One solution for many hospitals is to look for ways to streamline processes, maximize revenue and decrease expenses. And a great way to do this is to utilize a model called Global Delivery. Global Delivery is a service management strategy that allows a health system to outsource select revenue cycle functions to offshore locations. This allows the hospital to keep their costs down while still providing top-tier services.

There are some misconceptions about Global Delivery, and it’s important for healthcare executives to understand what this model is before they consider working with an RCM company that uses it. One common misperception is that healthcare companies that use Global Delivery are “taking jobs away from Americans.” This could not be further from the truth. Reputable revenue cycle management (RCM) companies that use global delivery do not send work overseas without thoughtful consideration of the entire business model. In fact, many of the companies that use this model employ a mix of U.S.-based and offshore workers, and the highest-level work – including escalations – stays here for proper consideration and follow-up by onshore employees.

In addition, it’s also important to note that global delivery is different from outsourcing. While outsourcing involves moving some or all of a project to an outside provider, the term “global delivery” refers to a holistic approach that utilizes an optimized process and scalable infrastructure in a combination of onshore, nearshore and offshore locations. It’s a model that includes the technical skills/labor resources, tools, policies, procedures, methodologies, overall structure and strategies needed for seamless service delivery from global locations.

When used correctly, Global Delivery provides a highly flexible and cost-effective alternative to traditional IT outsourcing. It is a service management strategy that allows an organization to access the best talent on a global basis while keeping costs down and maintaining quality, flexibility and speed.

A complete Global OB code should only be billed when at least four antepartum (pregnancy/PN) visits, delivery and postpartum care are provided for the same patient on the same date of service or dates span. A Cesarean delivery only code can be billed once, even if antepartum and/or postpartum care is provided, as it is more pertinent to a cesarean section delivery than to a vaginal birth.

To avoid coding errors and claim denials, it’s important to remember that the global OB field requires a six-digit date of service – two digits for the month, two digits for the day, and two digits for the year. The “From” and “To” fields should be entered separately to prevent the use of the same date in both fields. This will help to ensure that both dates are captured in the global maternity code field. This will allow providers to use the most accurate CPT codes and avoid NCCI edits. It will also help to ensure that the correct physician is credited for the services rendered.