What’s a Management Services Org?

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A management services organization (MSO) is a business that provides non-medical and administrative services to physicians, hospitals, or other healthcare practices. The organization could include a group of doctors, independent investors or even a hospital. Physicians can benefit from using an MSO because it frees them from having to perform basic administrative tasks. The management services organization benefits by making a profit from its members and through other channels. Physicians within the organization may all be in one building or may include many physicians in an entire region.

There are many aspects of a physician’s practice that usually need to be managed by the physician or a staff member, who ultimately must manage the physician. The goal of a management service organization is to assume the burden of one or more administrative tasks that serving physicians would otherwise perform. The MSO could be very specialized in a particular field, or it could be a larger organization that provides management of every aspect needed to run a medical practice.

Specialized examples of a management services organization might be a company that does medical record encryption only or one that manages only electronic health records (EHR). Alternatively, some organizations are all-in-one providers that can handle almost every administrative aspect of a case. These larger organizations can often employ smaller MSOs to provide all necessary services.

A management services organization sometimes branches out as a result of an Independent Practice Association (IPA). An IPA is simply a group of doctors who come together to be able to act as a single legal entity when billing. MSOs that stem from IPAs often don’t focus primarily on management services that larger companies would.

Using a management services organization can help doctors save money within their practices. This can be done because the MSO services many physicians and, therefore, will be able to get better rates on software, equipment, and other medical services. An organization may also be able to reduce the cost of insurance and medications by passing the savings on to doctors.

One of the main services an MSO can provide is experience. Physicians who don’t have the time to keep up with changing EHR regulations or coding and billing practices can safely rely on an MSO to stay current. This can lead to a reduction in administrative errors and an overall increase in efficiency. It also allows doctors to see more patients.

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