Practice Management Alert

Providing concrete information may help ease patient worries. While experts recommend that you only collect patient Social Security Numbers (SSNs) when absolutely necessary, there may be times you either need to collect or want to collect the information. You can help your patients stay informed of your policy and state or Federal SSN collection regulations with a document like this one from Marcia Carroll, an office manager and billing supervisor in Colorado Springs.Social Security NumbersTo process insurance claims, {Practice Name} requires the social security number of the insured as well as the responsible party. A patient who does not want to give their social security number but still wishes to be seen by {Practice Name} must pay for the entire visit up front.State of Colorado:www.coloradoattorneygeneral.gov/initiatives/identity_theft/social_security_numbers Requests by businessesFederal law does not prohibit a merchant or other business from requesting your SSN. However, there is no state or federal law [...]