Webinar: Patient Collections

Avoid these 7 mistakes to maximize Patient Collections

In CureMD’s recent webinar, “Patient Collections – 7 mistakes your practice should avoid”, Cure Billing Manager, Ken Edwards talked about ways through which patient payment collections can be improved.

The seriousness of patient collections can be judged from a survey conducted by Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) that revealed that a practice generates 25% of its revenue from patient payments. Failure to collect these payments on time can result in loss of revenue for the practice.

Therefore, it is necessary for practitioners to have an effective patient payment strategy in place to streamline the practice workflow and maximize collections.

Ken discussed 7 mistakes – made by practice staff – that should be avoided at all cost in order to have an efficient patient collection process.

Mistake 1:  Few payment options

Don’t restrict yourself to taking cash. Show some flexibility and give more options to patients for the mode of payment. These days, people mostly use credit and debit cards to make payments. Keep a card machine on the front desk, so that patients can make payment there and then.

Some patients may insist on making the payment in cash. So you can facilitate them by having an ATM installed at your practice.

Source: MGMA report: ‘Perspective on Patient Payments’

Mistake 2:  No financial policies

Create a financial policy for your practice and communicate it to your patients to avoid any payment confusions or discrepancies in future. The policy should be comprehensive and address issues pertaining to your practice specialty and patients.

Clearly define patient responsibilities for all non-covered services.

Mistake 3:  Not enough training

Invest in your front-desk staff. Educate them about ways to collect patient payments before the services. It is desirable to hire staff that is familiar with health insurance policies; otherwise train them in making collections, looking up patient payment history and resolving payment disputes. Make sure your staff remains up to date with payer payment rule changes.

Mistake 4:  Not being prepared

Do your home work before coming to work. Check your EHR and create a list of all the patients with huge payment Backlog. Your integrated EHR and Practice Management System should assist you in this. With good software you can view the plan and patient balance in real-time on the scheduling screen. Make it a habit to view this information, so that you have an idea about patients lagging behind in payments; particularly for expensive procedures and services.

Mistake 5:  Not enforcing policy

Creating a policy is of no use unless it is communicated to the patients and enforced at the practice. Develop a culture of payment before service. At time of check-in, ask the patients ‘how they would like to pay’, instead of “if they would like to pay”.

Mistake 6:  Not following through

Delay in follow-up will increase chances of non-payment. As soon as the patient leaves the practice, send the bill on their patient portal. Call them up and remind them through email.

Source: PatientLink.MD

Keep your options open while deciding to keep billing in-house or outsourcing it to a medical billing company.

If you don’t have enough staff or good billing expertise; outsourcing your billing might be a more cost effective option for you. Most billing companies deal with patient payments by answering patient billing queries, following up with your patients on pending balances and even taking them to collection agencies after your approval.

Mistake 7:  Not attending this webinar

This webinar was specifically conducted for practitioners and healthcare professionals striving to improve their patient collections and maintain a healthy revenue cycle.

Let us help you crack the code to profitability and rejuvenate your practice! Explore the advantage of outsourcing with CureMD Billing Services. Sign up for a Free Demo today!