It is not always easy to make patients and their insurance companies pay dental bills on time. In fact, many dental practices struggle to ensure that there is a balance between monetary collections and professional obligations to their clients. However, the following tips would guarantee excellent dental collections, and maintain the highest standards of professional conduct.
The dental service provider needs to formulate a strong internal credit policy. It is important to have a consensus on the guidelines with all members of the team. The policies should be written, easy to understand and execute. The main aim of the policy is to reinforce the procedure for collecting and reduce the time for payment. There is a need for a financial coordinator to handle the finances and ascertain the status of the patient's creditworthiness before any treatment is provided
For prompt payment, it is important to prepare the bills electronically prior to discharge of the patient, thus saving time. The billing statement should then be sent promptly to the patient. The clearance of the bill and collection procedures must be communicated to the patient clearly in writing. A duplicate of the form should be given to the patient while the original should be filed by the dental office. Include your telephone contacts or website address for any issues that might need any clarification.
The person selected to handle finances should understand the weight of the matter and the formalities required to deal with the fragile nature of the work. The work may involve making several telephone calls to the patients and other stakeholders. It is important to take notes as you speak to the patient. The payment history of the patient should be known to determine credit worthiness. The person who is making the payments should be provided with a bill, which not only states the amount, but also the conditions for payment and the due date. The patient should be informed of the repercussions for nonpayment.
An authorization request should be sent on time to the insurance company to allow the task to be accomplished on time. This should indicate the amount to be paid by the insurance company. This will assist the patient and dental office to organize and clear the bill before the patient is discharged without any delay. The patient may be motivated to clear the bill in advance by offering a cash discount.
There should be a plan on how the payments would be cleared where the patient is not able to pay the amounts at once. The plan may attract interest or not. The payments may be cleared in monthly installments. However, the duration of payment should not be too long. The contract should be clearly written and the consequences of nonpayment well stipulated.
Involving your patients in the dental collection management is a good idea. This equips them with the necessary information to handle patients. If the process cannot be handled internally, it is vital to look for established agencies with experience in collections to act on behalf of your dental practice. Though there is a cost of hiring such a service, it eliminates the responsibility of dealing with patients who are difficult and unwilling to pay.
It is important to remember that dental practice is unique because it requires urgent action to be taken to help a patient in pain. It is important to ensure that you do not create an impression among your patients that money is all that matters. This is another reason why it is advisable to hire a financial manager to handle the job for you.
The dental service provider needs to formulate a strong internal credit policy. It is important to have a consensus on the guidelines with all members of the team. The policies should be written, easy to understand and execute. The main aim of the policy is to reinforce the procedure for collecting and reduce the time for payment. There is a need for a financial coordinator to handle the finances and ascertain the status of the patient's creditworthiness before any treatment is provided
For prompt payment, it is important to prepare the bills electronically prior to discharge of the patient, thus saving time. The billing statement should then be sent promptly to the patient. The clearance of the bill and collection procedures must be communicated to the patient clearly in writing. A duplicate of the form should be given to the patient while the original should be filed by the dental office. Include your telephone contacts or website address for any issues that might need any clarification.
The person selected to handle finances should understand the weight of the matter and the formalities required to deal with the fragile nature of the work. The work may involve making several telephone calls to the patients and other stakeholders. It is important to take notes as you speak to the patient. The payment history of the patient should be known to determine credit worthiness. The person who is making the payments should be provided with a bill, which not only states the amount, but also the conditions for payment and the due date. The patient should be informed of the repercussions for nonpayment.
An authorization request should be sent on time to the insurance company to allow the task to be accomplished on time. This should indicate the amount to be paid by the insurance company. This will assist the patient and dental office to organize and clear the bill before the patient is discharged without any delay. The patient may be motivated to clear the bill in advance by offering a cash discount.
There should be a plan on how the payments would be cleared where the patient is not able to pay the amounts at once. The plan may attract interest or not. The payments may be cleared in monthly installments. However, the duration of payment should not be too long. The contract should be clearly written and the consequences of nonpayment well stipulated.
Involving your patients in the dental collection management is a good idea. This equips them with the necessary information to handle patients. If the process cannot be handled internally, it is vital to look for established agencies with experience in collections to act on behalf of your dental practice. Though there is a cost of hiring such a service, it eliminates the responsibility of dealing with patients who are difficult and unwilling to pay.
It is important to remember that dental practice is unique because it requires urgent action to be taken to help a patient in pain. It is important to ensure that you do not create an impression among your patients that money is all that matters. This is another reason why it is advisable to hire a financial manager to handle the job for you.