In 1891, 29-year-old William Wrigley Jr. moved from Philadelphia to Chicago with only $32 in his pocket. It was ultimately his courage to change his business model (more than once) that eventually turned him into a household name. I’ll explain shortly…

Changing a business model or process is never an easy decision for a medical practice. We often fear failure and that which is unknown. Deciding to outsource your billing process is no different.

Reluctance to outsource billing often stems from a fear of loss of control and quality. Despite acknowledging that when all direct and indirect costs are completely allocated, medical billing often costs more to perform on site than it does by outsourcing, many physicians resist the change simply out of irrational fear. Today’s specialty- specific billing processes allow for a much more efficient and cost-effective methodology than years ago. Six Sigma concepts now allow for improved quality of the output of the process by identifying and removing the causes of “defects” and minimizing variability. Most physicians who have overcome the fear of change and are now outsourcing billing, are greatly benefiting from the advantage of lower costs, fewer variables, and improved collections. William Wrigley changed his business model a number of times and never looked back.

Soon after arriving in Chicago, Wrigley began selling soap. As an incentive to the customers, if they purchased his soap, he would give them a free can of baking powder. Soon baking powder proved to be more popular than the soap he was selling, so he switched his business. A year later, in 1892, Wrigley used chewing gum as an incentive for buying his baking powder. Again, chewing gum proved to be more popular than baking powder, and so he switched business again. The first brand of chewing gum Wrigley produced was Juicy Fruit. Juicy Fruit would soon become the number 1 selling chewing gum in the country.

The Wrigley Company has remained a staple, and perhaps is still the most visible brand in the chewing gum business in the 21st century. In 2008, Wrigley was purchased by Mars Inc. for $23 billion. Chew on that while you consider changing your billing model!

If you are interested in finding out if outsourcing is for you, please email me at John@nemohealth.com for your FREE Cost/ Benefit Analysis performed on your billing process.