When thinking Centricity patient collection or Epic patient collections, no matter the circumstance, asking for money requires great communication and tact. When it comes to patient collections, things can be even more delicate. At the same time, the stability of your practice depends on recovering full payments as soon as possible.
While collections efforts need to be firm, you can actually get the best results by maintaining patient-friendly practices that help people understand the paperwork and communicate efficiently. Let’s take a look at how your medical practice can implement amicable, helpful communications with accounts gone to collections.
The Importance of Clear, Friendly Communications
When you send collections letters and make calls, you want all communications to represent your practice well. This holds true with outsourced collections—patients associate the experience with your office even when dealing with a third-party collections agency.
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In addition to being upbeat and friendly, you must also plainly state the facts and provide clear instructions. If billing amounts and dates seem obscured or contradictory, the patient can feel confused or even manipulated.
In the best case scenario, patient collections communications should:
- Written in “plain English”
- Short and digestible
- Include key info like dates of services
- Be thoroughly checked and free of errors
What’s Patient-Friendly: Outsourced or In-House?
Depending on the size of your practice, you may want to handle patient collections in-house to retain control over the process, or you may outsource collections to streamline the process. Either way could be the right for your practice, so let’s look at the merits of each.
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In-house collections offer patient-friendly services in key ways:
- Patients can feel comfortable and confident when dealing with your practice directly.
- Practices can use software and automation tools to offer an easy, efficient process tailored to the practice’s tone and audience.
- Friction over bad-debt collections can be lessened by dealing with in-house staff.
Outsourced patient collections can also provide a positive experience for patients:
- Healthcare management providers can partner with medical practices and represent the brand well while communicating with patients.
- Practices can choose a level of service and rates that best fit the needs of the practice, so doctors who want to offer a patient-friendly experience can make sure that happens.
Whether your Centricity or Epic medical practice outsources patient collections entirely or develops an in-house system, the market currently offers a wide variety of solutions to fit the needs of doctors and patients alike—and that means a helpful, communicative process even during collections.
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