It's not news to many physicians and other medical practice managers that good medical billing practices are important for helping you to stay in business. What's less clear to some, though, is how good medical collections contribute to a positive 'brand' or image for a single or group practice. These days, with social media and other accessible forms of customer review, how a doctor's office does in terms of collecting money from its patients in attentive, compassionate ways often makes a lot of difference in how that business is perceived in its community.
Getting the Details Right
Part of good patient collections is maintaining accuracy in what's billed, as well as other details like patient identification and scheduling. Practices that can reach patients with accurate information can go further in medical collections than those that are weighed down with clerical errors, incomplete and or incorrect information. Part of this accuracy can be accomplished by training both front and back office staff, but it also matters what kind of technology tools the practice is using to drive collections.
A Good Customer Experience
Another big part of medical bill collections is customer experience. For the best results, customers need to feel like they are being listened to by providers and those responsible for collecting debt. They need to feel like what they are asked to pay is fair, and that they have all of the rights they deserve under the law. And, by providing payment options that fit your patient's budget, you can create a memorable customer service experience.
It can often be tough to reach customers on this level with the increasing complexity that goes with third-party health insurance billing, as well as other common medical billing issues like in-network and out-of-network charges, unanticipated facility fees, and more. The bottom line is that debt collectors who take the time to explain more to your patients can bring more individuals around to an understanding of their bill, and businesses that cut corners in customer outreach often lose both revenue and positive reputation.
Legal Compliance
In addition to all of the above, debt collectors for medical businesses must pay attention to all applicable standards in federal, state and local law. This includes compliance with industry requirements like HIPAA, as well as more general rules on soliciting or telemarketing.
All of these considerations can help you determine how best to interact with your patients to collect more of the money that's rightfully yours. Remember, a little extra effort can really add to improve your 'brand' or image, and more and more doctors are realizing that this really does matter in a competitive medical industry that rewards those who go the extra mile to take an interest in the financial situations and opinions of the families that they serve on a regular basis.
Learn more about our friendly and effective collection approach at http://tinyurl.com/RevenueMgmtILCorp. Sunni is President/CEO of Revenue Management of Illinois Corporation, which specializes in third party healthcare debt collection agency services for doctors, dentists, and other healthcare organizations. Sunni and her team can be contacted at info@rmk123.com.
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