It’s not uncommon for medical practices to experience shortages of cash-flow for not receiving timely payments for services rendered.
And over the last few years the problem has become more acute as people choose not to pay their bills, or withhold payment until the last possible minute.
So if you run a medical practice what can you do about collecting as much outstanding revenue as possible?
Tips for contacting a medical collections agency
Medical collections poses a set of unique circumstances, and challenges, that most other businesses don’t face. Namely, trying to collect from patients in a delicate and responsible manner.
After all, some of the people you’re trying to collect from may be long-standing patients. And their failure to collect doesn’t necessarily mean that they will no longer be your patient down the road.
So what can you do?
It is perfectly acceptable to call in outside experts to help you collect… provided, of course, that you select a company that specializes in medical collections. And though you may still have an image of collection agents who are little more than thugs badgering or threatening people to “pay up” today the collection industry is much different from this image.
In fact, professional agencies train their staff to follow all applicable state and federal collection laws.
Their objective is to help you collect as much of your outstanding revenue as possible by using proven strategies for ethically working with your patients in order to get them to pay you. That might mean extending terms of payment to help “ease the pain,” or by working out payment arrangements that are acceptable to you and the people who owe you money.
So when should you get a collection agency involved in the process?
The short answer is as soon as possible.
The longer you delay the harder it will be to collect. A good rule of thumb is to get a collection agency involved once an account is past due more than 45 or 60 days, though the particular agency you finally hire will work with you to create a process where they are notified by you and can take action on your behalf.
Ultimately you are looking for a vendor who can become a seamless part of your billing process.
Some questions to ask before hiring a collection agency are:
- how long has your company been helping medical practices?
- do you specialize in medical collections?
- what is your track record for working with medical practices like ours?
- can you share some case studies or testimonials with us?
- what are your fees?
Most collection agencies only get paid when they are able to collect on your behalf. They will either charge you a flat fee, or a fee based on a percentage of the total amount they were able to collect for you.
In the end, working with a medical collections agency doesn’t cost you money, since attempting to collect on your own rarely generates the results you want, and need, for your practice.
Find a medical debt specialist today
To find a medical collections agency that specializes in medical practices like yours simply request more information from qualified and reputable companies.
Click the link and compare free medical collection agency quotes today.
This way you can save time, money and aggravation by hiring a professional who can help you start collecting on your outstanding bills.
After all, you really have two choices:
- you can keep doing what you’re doing (expecting a different result), or
- you can hire an outside company that can help you collect the money you rightfully deserve.
At the end of the day it’s your money…