Balancing Compassion and Business: A Workflow for Patient Collections

As a healthcare provider, managing patient collections can be a delicate balance between compassion and financial responsibility. While maintaining a positive patient-provider relationship is crucial, there are situations where patient collections become a necessary step for your practice’s financial health. In this blog post, we’ll explore a suggested workflow that allows you to minimize the need for collections while ensuring your practice remains financially stable.

Regular Communication: Sending Statements

Start by maintaining open lines of communication with your patients. Send regular statements to patients with outstanding balances, typically in the form of invoices. A well-structured approach involves sending three statements, each 30 days apart, clearly indicating the number of days the balance has been outstanding, urging the patient to take action.

Managing Overdue Accounts: The 90-Day Rule

Implement a process for tracking and managing patient accounts that are 90 days past due. Assign a designated staff member or team to run reports regularly and reach out to these patients. Personal calls to patients, especially in smaller practices, can be more effective than automated messages. Document each communication attempt carefully, including the date, time, and phone number.

Compliance with HIPAA Regulations and State Laws

When reaching out to patients, it’s essential to comply with HIPAA regulations while leaving voicemails. Avoid mentioning collection actions unless necessary, adhering to your state’s laws. For example, in Oregon, the word “collections” is limited until the patient is sent to collections.

Setting Up Flexible Payment Plan Solutions

In conversations with patients, be firm about the expectation of payment while showing understanding and flexibility. Offer in-house no-interest payment plans to provide options and ease the burden on patients. Make sure the same parameters for payment plans apply to all patients to ensure fairness.

Authorization and Automatic Payments

When setting up payment plans, have patients sign a waiver authorizing the practice to keep their credit card on file. Automatically run credit cards on the agreed-upon dates to ensure timely payments. Maintain a clear policy that outlines the process if a payment is missed or declined, requiring the patient to provide a new payment method within a specified timeframe, or the payment plan is voided.

Adapting to Patient Needs

Demonstrate sincerity and understanding while holding patients accountable, and be willing to accommodate changes to the payment plan when necessary. Adjust the payment plan if a patient’s visit adds to their balance, and extend the plan accordingly.

Last Resort: Sending Accounts to Collections

Despite your best efforts, there may be patients who refuse to cooperate. In such cases, after thoroughly documenting all efforts to assist the patient, sending the account to a collection agency becomes necessary to protect your practice’s financial health. Always know your state’s requirements and consider consulting a collection agency or healthcare attorney for guidance before taking this step.

Balancing compassion and running a successful practice is achievable through a well-structured patient collection process. By following these steps, you can minimize the need for collections while maintaining the financial stability of your practice. If you have any questions or comments about patient collections or additional insights, please leave them in the comments below. Your feedback is valuable in helping us create better content. Take care, and until next time!