Improve Patient Collection in Your Practice in 6 Easy Steps
What is the Importance of Patient Collections?
A healthy patient collection is crucial to efficient revenue cycle management in increasing patient collections. This will ensure your healthcare practice gets paid on time.
This is crucial if you depend on patient collections in medical billing for financial security. Prompt payments from your patients can
help you pay your bills and buy new tools to give them better service.
Improve Patient Collection in Your Practice in 6 Easy Steps
The patient collection process can be challenging. So, we will provide the six techniques listed below to help you with collection issues.
1. Collect Payments Upfront
It is essential to note that the number of transactions conducted at point of service (POS) collection has been increasing. The best time to gather patient balances is during service when the patient stands before you. Ensure that your front desk or check-in staff informs the patient of any outstanding balances and prior collection attempts.
By requesting payment from patients, billing departments can generate more money from patient collections and spend less time chasing unpaid bills and sending out statements.
2. Collect Payments Through the Patient Portal
It should be simple and stress-free for your patients to make payments. Promote
online payments through a patient portal to provide them with the ease of paying from the comfort of their homes via a secure connection.
Online payments save time and resources. This is because your patients don't have to deal with tangible paperwork, and it allows you to gather amounts more quickly.
3. Provide Plans for Payment
Payment plans will be better for the patient group that is eager to pay but cannot afford to pay the entire bill simultaneously. Giving patients flexible plans will give them the confidence to pay for the necessary treatments.
It is best to offer these plans to patients who receive more expensive bills and report being unable to pay the total amount immediately. Additionally, check if the payment plans adhere to all state and federal regulations.
4. Allow a Variety of Payment Options
Medical practices like yours can improve financial health by implementing strategies to maximize collections from patient services billing. This is through accepting many
payment options.
The healthcare sector has undergone a significant patient responsibility shift in recent years, with patients now footing a larger portion of their medical expenses. You can make the payment process more convenient when you accommodate the following options:
- credit cards,
- debit cards,
- electronic fund transfers (EFTs),
- checks, and
- cash.
5. Follow Up on Overdue Patient Collection
Following up on overdue patient collections is essential to maintaining a healthy cash flow for your medical practice. Here are some tips for following up on delinquent patient collections in healthcare:
- Make a phone call: A phone call can be a more personal way to follow up with patients with past-due accounts. During the call, explain the overdue balance and ask if there is a reason for the delay in payment. Offer your payment plan if necessary.
- Send a written reminder: You can also send a written reminder to the patient's home address or email. Ensure the communication is clear and empathetic and includes information on making payments.
It's important to be persistent and empathetic when following up on past-due patient collections. Your patient could be experiencing financial difficulties, and working with them is essential to find a solution that works for both of you.
6. Outsource Your Patient Collections
Your practice can establish clear medical billing collection process steps to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. This is through the help of outsourcing.
It is the expertise of outsourcing companies to implement strategies that help maintain consistent
cash flow and quicker collection. Their expertise includes following up with patients regarding delinquent accounts and assisting you with denied claims.
The benefits of outsourcing patient collections to a reputable company include the following:
- Improved cash flow,
- Satisfied patients, and
- Burden reduction.
Partner with DrCatalyst
DrCatalyst is a group of medical billing specialists. We offer full-service revenue cycle management that will help you enhance your
patient collections through the following steps:
- Payer Analysis: We'll find your best and worst payers and how to improve the process, whether we're your full-time or project-based billing solution.
- Past vs. Current Claims: We will decide whether our initial implementation will address old AR, new claims, or both, and then we can assign each team member a job.
- EMR Inefficiencies: We will evaluate your billing software and propose build-outs and user errors that can slow collections.
- Virtual Staffing: Our virtual admin and clinical assistants can reduce inputting errors and improve collections while preventing onsite staff burnout.
Click to book a free demo right now.
