4 Ways to Make Healthcare Billing Easier

posted on Thursday, March 28, 2019

Managing your practice revenue, billing structure and patient accounts are both time consuming and tedious. It can have a huge effect on your staff efficiency and in return, impact the patient experience. Here are a few tricks to improve your billing strategy.

1. Identify where you are today.

In order to set goals and track progress, it’s important to understand where you started from. Keep track of the following:

Days in Accounts Receivable
Percentage of Net Collections
Aging of Accounts Receivable
Percentage of Patients Paying Online

2. Set policies and procedures.

Provide your team with a list of guidelines and protocols regarding your collection process. Have conversations about what’s working and where you can improve. Determine the length of time you will allow for a payment plan and set a minimum payment amount. This will enable your staff to feel confident in their role and help improve the practice’s revenue management over time.

3. Take advantage of technology.

Technology can have a huge impact on your collection strategy. Making it easier for patients to pay you will significantly improve your days in A/R and simplify your processes.

Auto Pay allows patients to store a credit card on file and reduce the burden of remembering to pay.
Guest Pay makes it easy for patients to quickly access their balance and pay their bill without the hassle of a username and password.
Automated Payment Plans give you control. Allow patients to handle large, out of pocket expenses without the uncomfortable feeling of calling your practice. Set the rules and allow patients to setup a payment plan from the privacy of their home, or facilitate it discreetly at your practice.

4. Educate your patients.

Leverage your statements to educate patients on how and when to pay their bills. Include your payment policy and drive them to your website to pay online. Utilizing a statement sequence creates a sense of urgency for patients to pay their outstanding balance.

Taking a few simple steps to simplify your billing processes can dramatically improve your collections and increase your practice profitability. Use the steps above to drive discussion within your practice and identify solutions to help execute them.