Would you like to quicken patient payments, reduce the amount of money owed to you and the collection costs?
It isn’t easy to know how to efficiently optimize your billing operations when the healthcare sector evolves swiftly across the globe during the pandemic times. And 2022 is rapidly approaching; it’s critical to remain up to date on new laws, trends, and technology that could help you boost patient payments and grow your business.
Here are
1. Make the Most of Your Telehealth Revenue
Telehealth, which was a need during the pandemic, has gained a lot of traction in the last year. The accessibility, simplicity, and time savings of remote treatment are all appreciated. Now, telemedicine is here to stay, independent practitioners and billing businesses must embrace new collecting strategies to stay afloat.
First and foremost, you must employ a HIPAA-compliant TeleHealth system. The sooner a practice implements a full-featured system, the better it will protect patient privacy, track telehealth encounters, and ensure accurate invoicing for faster reimbursement.
2. Shift to Electronic Statements and Payments
Patients are becoming more consumer-like. They want the same payment alternatives for healthcare as they do for other expenses. They want quick and accurate billing, respectful reminders, and straightforward online and easy patient payments options.
Because patients have been known to switch healthcare providers based on payment experiences, practices must make the system as easy as possible for the payment transactions.
3. Adjust to a Constantly Changing World
It might be challenging to keep up with new regulations – or the technologies that can help you cope – because the sector is changing quickly. Independent practitioners and billing agencies who want to remain on top of patient payments collection should get detailed knowledge of getting benefits from Medical Billing Services.
4. Give Patients More Payment Options
According to ACA International, 29% of adults have difficulty paying their costs. Some doctors choose to use alternate payment methods in the hopes of finding a solution. There are, however, ways to boost patient collections without making significant changes to your revenue cycle processes.
5. Collect Patient Insurance and Contact Information Before Appointments
When a patient calls to schedule an appointment, the front office staff should get current, complete information or give the option of mailing or emailing it instead, or in a perfect world if you have a patient portal that has the capability to get the information online. Fields for collecting or updating this information should be available in your patient portal or online appointment tool to make it easier for your staff to verify coverage and follow up with patients if they have the correct insurance and contact information.
6. Check Your Insurance Eligibility and Look for Any Unpaid Balances
Verify coverage with payers and understand payer rules before or at the time of service. These processes will help you identify changes in patient collections, what portion of the charges for the standard treatment will be reimbursed, and who is responsible for payment.
7. Implement a Payment Policy That Makes Patients to Be Responsible For Their Payment at The Time Of Check-In
Requiring patients to cover copays and patient responsibility upon check-in is the best strategy to collect patient balances.
Create a payment policy for the office to ensure that patients know it is necessary. Then, in your check-in papers, include a patient accountability agreement for patients to sign. This policy aims to give clear guidance to patients — and your personnel — on how to manage collections.
Send automatic appointment reminders with information about what’s due at the time of service using your patient messaging system.
Patients should be aware of your practice’s clean, uniform payment policy. There are two reasons for this: it provides support during complex payment negotiations and provides patients with a set of penalties if they do not pay.
A standard policy lowers the patient’s wriggle room when your collections team seeks to collect payment from them. If it’s clearly stated in your policy, they don’t have the option of claiming, “Oh, I thought I could pay it later.”
Paying your customers’ medical bills becomes even more critical if they suffer repercussions for not paying on time (the consequences are up to you). When a patient fails to pay their light bill, the lights are turned off, so paying the light bill is a crucial concern. Paying medical costs should also be a high priority.
8. Accept a Variety of Payment Methods
Offer a choice of payment options, such as cash, credit/debit card, or check, to increase the likelihood of collecting amounts at check-in. Patient payments can also be more accessible if your patient portal includes an easy-to-use online payment tool.
9. Make Partial Payment Options Available – And Keep Track of Them
Establish payment plans for higher debt and teach staff how to communicate and track these options properly. Offering a more adaptable payment method will enable your clinic to enhance collections while also encouraging patients that they will pay for the services they require.
10. Include Follow-Up in The Collection Process
Perseverance is essential for collecting as much as possible. Create a proactive plan for contacting patients who don’t pay their bills on time, as well as a script for your staff to follow. Your team should be ready to request full payment, discuss payment choices, and, if necessary, offer a payment plan.
