Practice tip of the week: Collecting patient balances

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With all the useful information available on Physicians Practice, it is easy to become overwhelmed.

With this in mind, the tip of the week is a chance to reflect on some of the wisdom found all across the site. In this July 2022 story on collecting patient balances, Lisa A. Eramo, MA gives this tip:

3 Make it easy for patients to pay

“If a small practice wants to survive, it can’t just send a statement and hope patients pay,” says Flint, adding that practices must tailor patient financial engagement strategies to fit the age and tech-savviness of the demographics they serve.

“Portal-driven online bill-pay and mobile payment methods may attract the millennials and Gen-Xers who are comfortable with DIY technology,” says Flint. “However, baby boomers generally prefer the human touch delivered by a U.S.-based call center that gently informs and educates them about why they owe what they owe. COVID-19 has taught us our goal is a seamless, personalized billing experience where one size does not fit all.”

Mongillo’s practice sends a text message to patients as soon as their account includes a patient responsibility. Patients simply click through the link to a secure site where they can make the payment. She says this technology has increased their collections by 30% in the last year and a half.

Obtaining patient consent to receive these messages is easy because Delaware law doesn’t require providers to ask patients whether they want to opt in to receiving these messages. It only requires them to let patients opt out. Mongillo says many patients don’t opt out because they want to receive appointment reminders and payment receipts via text as well.

Click here to read the rest of the article and be sure to check back next week for another Tip of the Week!