by Carmella Beroth & Amber Orlando of Debt Management Inc.
How many times have you found yourself frustrated with money you’ve earned not making its way to your bank account or back to your business? Why should you feel uncomfortable approaching a patient that owes you? Simple answer: That’s not what you do. Too many people make a judgment call on whether or not to pay you based on their perception of your need. The unfortunate reality is the justification that they’ll pay you when it’s convenient for them, not you. And too often it’s never convenient when it’s supposed to be on time. Unfortunately so long as there are “terms” to repay, there will be those that don’t stick to those terms. On average you can count on 5%-10% of your gross revenue finding its way into default. It is frustrating no doubt, but all you can do is have a process in place to deal with it. It’s the price of doing business, right? Wrong….You and your business don’t have to suffer because other can’t be bothered. Here are 7 ways to help maintain cash flow in your business.
- Include financial policies in a welcome pamphlet that’s provided to all patients
- Effective patient check-In procedures
- Offer patients a range of payment options
- Patient friendly payment plans
- The value of a credit-card-on-file option
- Training your staff for “past due” conversations
- Prepare the day before the visit
Know which patients passed their insurance verification. A failed result could mean a range of things, from a change of address, name change due to marriage not yet communicated to the practice but updated with the insurer or a fundamental change in coverage due to a change in employer or a job loss Add a procedure to your practice that includes checking patient Insurance co-pays understanding during the reminder call Another technique is to print out a charge slip or patient statement prior to the patient’s visit and highlight the outstanding balance on that document.
Carmella & Amber will be speaking at the upcoming “Over Easy” Breakfast Seminar Series on June 10th at ACTSmart
For more helpful hints to help keep your AR to a minimum, please contact Debt Management, Inc. 508-643-1400 www.debtmanagementinc.com