Ophthalmology and Optometry Coding Alert

Question: We recently had a patient present for his annual vision exam and his chart had a $75 past-due balance on it. He told us he “wants” to pay it, but doesn’t have the money. Our front-desk staff members are not really equipped to handle patients who don’t want to pay. So what should we do when a patient reports and tells us he will not be paying his past-due balance?

Alabama Subscriber

Answer: If your front-desk staff members are not trained on billing procedures, you should let someone from the billing department handle those situations because they tend to have better collections training than the people who work the front window.

When a patient cannot (or does not want to) pay, have the person up front contact a representative from the billing department. The rep should then escort the patient to a private area to discuss how he will settle his account.

In the future, it’s a good idea to include front-desk staffers on your billing and collections training sessions. They are the first line of defense in speaking with patients and should be ready to let patients know about balances, copays, deductibles, and other charges, and should have the ability to collect them as well. Most commonly, patients are told at the time they are setting up the appointment about an existing balance, and preferably handle the amount over the phone before being given a confirmed appointment, or at least being told they need to be current on the account before the physician can provide a new service.