Practice Management Alert

Question: I want to make my office's collections more effective on a day-to-day basis. Do you have any doable suggestions for restructuring collections so that every day doesn't feel like a circus? Pennsylvania Subscriber Answer: Improved collections means regularly cleaning house, both day-to-day and month-to-month. Take if from the billing pros. Here's a short list of ways to improve your collections, contributed by Jennifer Darling, compliance officer, insurance & collection specialist and owner of BBC Medical Management Services in Dallas: Sweep up aging reports. Take care of aging reports by working them at least every 30 days. Work larger accounts no less than once every 45 days, since payers do have 45 days to make payment. If you can't get to every account every month, try splitting up the task in half, working one-half one month and the other the next month. Prevent build-up: Take care of new denials. Work denials and no-pays quickly so you can clear up the most urgent accounts before they even get to your aging report. Make use of new gadgets. Use the Internet! Check claim status on carrier Web sites instead of sitting on-hold on the phone. Avoid errand rush hour. You're wasting your time if you try to take care of collections errands when there's phone traffic. Make phone calls at non-peak times, i.e., 8-9 a.m. and 4-5 p.m., that is, if you have to be on the phone. Don't waste time when on-hold. As you wait to speak to someone, work your next account pull it up, review it and prepare it so you can dial the next number as soon as you get off the current phone call. Create a claim status worksheet so you can have all your information in front of you when the company you're calling answers the phone. Again, you can complete the next claim status sheet while you are holding. Keep a written record of what you do. "Document, document, document," Darling says. "This is the key to collections!" It may take time, but you'll make up that time when you have dates, times and names available when they're needed. It will also help to remind you of claims when situations arise, or if the claims go unpaid.