Chances are, if you are still in business, then you understand the importance of keeping your accounts receivable balance in check. Physical therapy is fun and all but you do need to be paid in order to keep doing it!
Although there are quite a few different items that fall within a clinic’s A/R bucket, here we will focus on how to clean up your patient A/R. Expect another blog about those dirty claims in the near future.
The problem
As a young team, we find ourselves asking questions like, “It’s 2019, are clinics really still doing that??” far more often than we should be. When it comes to patient collections, there are A LOT of inefficient processes in place at most private practice clinics.
Clinics should not be mailing invoices to patients. It is very challenging to stay on top of the status of mailed invoices. It is even more difficult for the patient to actually go ahead and pay that balance. In addition, each invoice collected by mail can cost a clinic as much as $5 a piece which can add up quickly.
Additionally, existing systems don’t make it easy to send out invoices in bulk. Clicking into individual visits each time you would like to send one out is not only burdensome but can lead to oversight and other errors.
It should not be such a challenge to bill a patient at the time of their visit either. Payment processors are often not connected to existing EMR systems, and the systems don’t make it obvious that a patient has an outstanding balance.
All of these factors slow down a clinic’s accounts receivable cycle, leading to increased frustration, and therefore, more write-offs.
The solution
Email or Text Payable Invoices
Prompt enables you to easily send patients a text or email with the click of a button. They’ll receive a payable electronic invoice with a clear outline of what you are owed. Prompt’s patient balance system also enables you to see at a glance when you first and last sent the patient an invoice.
Mail Integration
Want to mail 60 patients invoices but don’t feel like printing paper, stuffing envelopes and going to the post office? Prompt’s HIPAA-compliant electronic mailing solution enables you to send all your patients invoices through the mail without any of the hassle. Streamline collections and decrease the labor hours involved with collecting patient balances.
Credit Card Processing // In Center Collections
At the time of check-in, the front desk will see what a patient’s outstanding balance is and what co-pay they owe! Prompt’s built-in payments processor enables you to collect the balances at the time of the visit with no delays.
Conclusion
As technology in other areas has improved, EMR and practice management software has become outdated, leading to inefficient payment collections processes. With 20-30% of a clinic’s revenue being driven by patient payments, clinics in the modern-day need a solution that makes it easy to track, invoice, and collect outstanding patient balances.
Prompt’s powerful solution enables a clinic to easily manage patient balances, collect payments both virtually and in-center, and invoice patients in bulk in just a few seconds.
