2018 HFMA Explores the Healthcare Revenue Cycle
With the nation hyper-focused on the world of healthcare, does the idea of having a large new pool of patients make you feel optimistic for the fate of your practice?
It should, but be careful knowing that more patients may open you up to the problem of more debt. The Boy Scout Law may be unlikely to use as an allegory when thinking of healthcare debt collection ethics, but we promise you a patch if you stick with us.
Be kind. You only have to do a search on “debt collection” to find shrieks and screams of the process gone wrong. Profit recovery is a sensitive issue, and it never involves harassment or lying. You should be able to trust that your accounts receivable management company is going to treat your patients with respect and kindness.
Be trustworthy. Those stories the media like to play up usually revolve around unlicensed and unverified debt collectors – renegades, if you may. Your debt collection company should be trustworthy and one way to ensure this is to choose one with certified endorsement by an organization such as the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals. To attain this stamp of trust (collections’ version of a Boy Scout Patch), collections companies must satisfy many checks and balances. It is no easy process.
Be thrifty. Your debt collection company’s goal is to recover as much payment as possible. Considering that the ability to recover monies drops off the longer you wait, it literally pays to be thrifty. Align with a healthcare collections agency as soon as you can, so that you can start putting that money back into your practice.
Be brave. Deciding to pursue money owed to your practice by your patients can be scary. The process has an unpleasant reputation and you may worry that you’ll lose patients over collection efforts. But partnering with a debt collection company specializing in healthcare collections gives you the best of both worlds. You’ll see an influx of money you may have written off, as well as maintain those long-term relationships with patients.
And never forget, be prepared! If you want to truly be like the Boy Scouts, you’ve got to always be prepared. No, you don’t have to raise your right hand. Instead, start the prep process here by downloading our free guide to managing patient payments. We think you’ll really enjoy it, Scouts’ honor!
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