Consistent patient payment collection starts long before a bill becomes overdue. Medical practices need a clear process for identifying patient financial responsibility, communicating expected costs, collecting payments, and monitoring outstanding balances.
CLEAR Management Group helps medical practices strengthen the revenue cycle from the beginning, including eligibility and benefit verification, medical billing, payment collection, and ongoing revenue cycle management. Taking a proactive approach can help practices improve cash flow while creating clearer financial expectations for patients.
7 Ways to Improve Collections
1. Partner with a medical billing service
Your in-house staff can get very busy with work, compromising their focus on patients that is needed for a successful medical practice. Outsourcing your billing services to a professional medical billing company that specializes in billing operations and collection payments, like Physician Revenue Solutions, could help free up time so they can focus on patients, while the professionals focus on ensuring proper cash flow and increased profitability.
2. Use billing software
Billing software can help streamline practice management by:
- Tracking bills
- Identifying which patients are behind on payments
- Calculating overdue fees
Although purchasing this kind of software can be expensive upfront, it will be an investment in your practice in the long run.
3. Verify Eligibility and Benefits Before Discussing Patient Costs
Accurate eligibility and benefit verification can give your practice a clearer understanding of a patient’s financial responsibility before services are provided. By confirming active insurance coverage, deductibles, copays, coinsurance, covered services, and other plan requirements, your team can provide patients with more accurate information about anticipated costs.
This transparency can make payment conversations easier while reducing unexpected balances after care. CLEAR Management Group provides eligibility and benefit verification services that help practices identify important coverage details earlier in the revenue cycle.
4. Keep Patients Updated
Notifying patients of any remaining balances on their accounts can lead to a better collection rate for you and your practice. We recommend notifying your patients regularly using the following ways:
- Text alerts via smartphone
- Phone calls
- Reminders via Email
- Online payments from billing statements
5. Train front-desk staff
Make sure your staff is trained on payment collection methods and know-how to inform patients of their payment balances, options, and deadlines.
Scripts can be beneficial for your staff so they know what to say and how to say it when patients ask questions. Plus, having proper verbiage guarantees respect, courtesy, and professionalism when patients need to be contacted about an unpaid bill or are confused as to their balance.
One way to increase transparency would be to post signs around your office stating your office’s payment terms and policies.
6. Have Multiple Payment Options Available
Offices that offer more options to pay for services and procedures oftentimes enjoy higher collection rates than those who only have one or two payment options. Credit and debit card payments, online payments, and payment plans are all effective options for your practice, especially for more expensive services and procedures.
7. Track collection results regularly
Review your current collections process to identify what its strengths and weaknesses are, and determine whether your current process is working, or if you need to test out another option. Monthly meetings about financial matters can help you stay on top of your collections, as well as give you ideas for how to improve moving forward.
Contacting patients who are late on payments regularly – weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly – can help stabilize cash flow as well.
These tips allow you to focus on your patients’ wellbeing while ensuring your cash flow is stable.
How Does Benefit Verification Help Improve Patient Collections?
Benefit verification in medical billing helps practices determine what insurance may cover and what portion of the cost may be the patient’s responsibility. Reviewing eligibility, deductibles, copays, coinsurance, network status, and benefit limitations before treatment gives staff more information to discuss financial responsibility with patients.
When these details are identified earlier, practices can establish clearer payment expectations and address potential coverage issues before they become billing problems.
Strengthen Patient Collections From the Start
Improving patient payment collection begins with having the right information before care is provided. From accurate eligibility and benefit verification to clear cost communication and consistent billing follow up, each step can help reduce payment delays and support a healthier revenue cycle.
CLEAR Management Group helps medical practices improve collections with comprehensive medical billing, revenue cycle management, and eligibility and benefit verification services.
Contact CLEAR Management Group today to learn how our team can help strengthen your billing process and maximize revenue.
