It is difficult to deal with patients and dental insurance agencies when it comes to payment of bills on time. At the same time, the dental practice must strike a balance between collecting the dues and maintaining a good name for the practice. A few tips will help guarantee outstanding dental collections, and likewise maintain high ethical standards.
It is crucial to develop an internal credit guideline that is strong for your team. The whole team should agree to the guidelines. Ensure the policy rules are clearly written and easy to implement. The main objective is to strengthen the collection procedure and shorten the duration of payment. Handling and collecting the money should be left to the financial adviser. Before administering any treatment, check on the credit worthiness of the patient.
The use of automation in preparing the documents will help with timely payments prior to releasing the patients. If the patient has already left the facility, the statement should then be sent without any delay. The payment method and date of collecting the dues must be clearly communicated to the client in writing with a copy of the bill and the original retained by the dental office. It is important to provide a contact address whether through email or your website.
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.
You should tell your patients to ask for an authorization form from the insurance company in advance in order to know how much the company will pay. This would help the dental office and the patients to finalize payments before they leave the office preventing delays. Patients may also be motivated to pay the bills by offering them cash discounts.
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 keep in mind that dentistry, unlike some medical fields, demands prompt attention to the patient. Therefore, it calls for caution to avoid sending a signal to the patients that implies you only need their money. This is why there is need to employ a financial coordinator to deal with finances.
It is crucial to develop an internal credit guideline that is strong for your team. The whole team should agree to the guidelines. Ensure the policy rules are clearly written and easy to implement. The main objective is to strengthen the collection procedure and shorten the duration of payment. Handling and collecting the money should be left to the financial adviser. Before administering any treatment, check on the credit worthiness of the patient.
The use of automation in preparing the documents will help with timely payments prior to releasing the patients. If the patient has already left the facility, the statement should then be sent without any delay. The payment method and date of collecting the dues must be clearly communicated to the client in writing with a copy of the bill and the original retained by the dental office. It is important to provide a contact address whether through email or your website.
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.
You should tell your patients to ask for an authorization form from the insurance company in advance in order to know how much the company will pay. This would help the dental office and the patients to finalize payments before they leave the office preventing delays. Patients may also be motivated to pay the bills by offering them cash discounts.
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 keep in mind that dentistry, unlike some medical fields, demands prompt attention to the patient. Therefore, it calls for caution to avoid sending a signal to the patients that implies you only need their money. This is why there is need to employ a financial coordinator to deal with finances.
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