Here are five ways orthopedic practices can improve patient responsibility collections.
1. Use simple format on billing statements. The simpler the statement looks, the faster and more complete your collection will be. "If you have a poorly designed statement, patients are likely to be confused and leave it for later," says Kevin Weinstein, vice president of marketing for ZirMed, a billing solutions, patient collection solutions and revenue cycle management company. "You should make sure the payment options are available on the statement, such as paying online or over the phone." You can also have patients mail in their checks, but don't have them mailed to the office. Take advantage of a financial services company to turn those payments around quickly.
2. Include a personal note with the bill. When patients receive a bill at home for their medical services, they don't always connect the physician with the bill. People often feel freer to ignore healthcare debt than credit card debt. Including a short cover note from the physician discussing the importance of timely bill pay can help collect quicker. "Have a cover note from the physician that follows up with the patient's condition and asking them to pay the enclosed bill on time," says Mr. Weinstein. "Tell the patient that you are able to provide good care because of their payments. Tell them the payments go toward things like the nurses' salaries or continuing education. This really makes a huge difference in how quickly someone pays."
3. Help the patient understand how his or her insurance coverage works. Payment misunderstandings are often caused by a patient's lack of knowledge about his or her insurance. Spend some time asking the patient basic questions about their insurance coverage to determine how much they understand. If the patient is unaware of a co-pay or recently changed deductible, the bill will come as more of a surprise, which will decrease the likelihood of collecting in full. Connect the patient with the insurance company if the practice doesn't have time for educating the patient.
4. Institute a strict financial policy and stick with it. In an economy where consumers are struggling to pay their bills, healthcare facilities often suffer because payment isn't required at the time of service. If a service is rendered and the patient leaves without paying, practices often struggle to collect the payment or even get in touch with the patient after the procedure.To make sure payment is made in full, institute a firm financial policy that requires patients to make payment prior to receiving a service and lays out several payment options: cash or check, major credit cards or a third-party payment plan. Once an accounts receivable goes over 90 to 120 days, the chances of being paid are significantly lowered.
5. Keep track of patients who haven't paid. With an increase in high deductible plans and general economic challenges, more patients are having their bills sent to collections, and this will often lead a practice to eventually write-off unpaid co-pays and deductibles. Considering that patients can be repeat customers to a practice, some non-paying patients will eventually return. To combat accruing additional unpaid services for the same patients, develop a policy and procedure followed by schedulers where the scheduler looks on a list or a note within your billing system during the scheduling process, and identifies if a patient previously had a balance the practice wrote off or is currently in the active collections process. The scheduler can educate the patient about the outstanding bills when they call for another appointment.
Related Articles on Orthopedic Practices:
3 Ways to Increase Orthopedic Revenue Cycle Efficiency
5 Ways to Maximize Your Orthopedic Practice Profits
6 Challenges for Orthopedic Physician Practice Leaders and How to Overcome Them
1. Use simple format on billing statements. The simpler the statement looks, the faster and more complete your collection will be. "If you have a poorly designed statement, patients are likely to be confused and leave it for later," says Kevin Weinstein, vice president of marketing for ZirMed, a billing solutions, patient collection solutions and revenue cycle management company. "You should make sure the payment options are available on the statement, such as paying online or over the phone." You can also have patients mail in their checks, but don't have them mailed to the office. Take advantage of a financial services company to turn those payments around quickly.
2. Include a personal note with the bill. When patients receive a bill at home for their medical services, they don't always connect the physician with the bill. People often feel freer to ignore healthcare debt than credit card debt. Including a short cover note from the physician discussing the importance of timely bill pay can help collect quicker. "Have a cover note from the physician that follows up with the patient's condition and asking them to pay the enclosed bill on time," says Mr. Weinstein. "Tell the patient that you are able to provide good care because of their payments. Tell them the payments go toward things like the nurses' salaries or continuing education. This really makes a huge difference in how quickly someone pays."
3. Help the patient understand how his or her insurance coverage works. Payment misunderstandings are often caused by a patient's lack of knowledge about his or her insurance. Spend some time asking the patient basic questions about their insurance coverage to determine how much they understand. If the patient is unaware of a co-pay or recently changed deductible, the bill will come as more of a surprise, which will decrease the likelihood of collecting in full. Connect the patient with the insurance company if the practice doesn't have time for educating the patient.
4. Institute a strict financial policy and stick with it. In an economy where consumers are struggling to pay their bills, healthcare facilities often suffer because payment isn't required at the time of service. If a service is rendered and the patient leaves without paying, practices often struggle to collect the payment or even get in touch with the patient after the procedure.To make sure payment is made in full, institute a firm financial policy that requires patients to make payment prior to receiving a service and lays out several payment options: cash or check, major credit cards or a third-party payment plan. Once an accounts receivable goes over 90 to 120 days, the chances of being paid are significantly lowered.
5. Keep track of patients who haven't paid. With an increase in high deductible plans and general economic challenges, more patients are having their bills sent to collections, and this will often lead a practice to eventually write-off unpaid co-pays and deductibles. Considering that patients can be repeat customers to a practice, some non-paying patients will eventually return. To combat accruing additional unpaid services for the same patients, develop a policy and procedure followed by schedulers where the scheduler looks on a list or a note within your billing system during the scheduling process, and identifies if a patient previously had a balance the practice wrote off or is currently in the active collections process. The scheduler can educate the patient about the outstanding bills when they call for another appointment.
Related Articles on Orthopedic Practices:
3 Ways to Increase Orthopedic Revenue Cycle Efficiency
5 Ways to Maximize Your Orthopedic Practice Profits
6 Challenges for Orthopedic Physician Practice Leaders and How to Overcome Them