Practice Management Alert

Question: What should our practice know about implementing electronic billing and payment options, and how can we encourage our patients to take advantage of these systems?

Indiana subscriber

Answer: “A happy patient is more apt to pay their bill,” said Susan Childs, FACMPE and president of Evolution Healthcare Consulting at MGMA’s 2017 Financial Management and Payer Contracting conference. Childs’ tips below will help you to create a positive experience for patients inside and outside of your office—so that patients feel satisfied, heard, and comfortable sending you their money:

1. Keep this in mind: If you don’t collect payment when they check in, you’ve just told them that it’s okay not to pay. Collections at the front desk have a substantial impact. It’s part of the patient’s first impression of your office, and shows them what is expected of them.

2. Look around your office. How many payment policies do you have posted? Patients can get very confused when there are too many policies posted.

3. Use automated billing options, or e-billing, to make it easier for patients to pay and benefit your practice in the form of faster turnarounds of billed amounts received, higher percentage of billed charges received, and increased compliance. As Childs says, “Patients will consider changing doctors if the payment process is easier for them there.” E-billing makes it easy for your patients to pay.

4. Before they come in for their visit, contact patients on the phone and tell them what they will be expected to pay at the time of their appointment. “There’s nothing worse than asking someone who’s sick for money,” says Childs.

Make sure all of the payment details are discussed before you see the patient in person.

5. Get physician support. Have physicians mention the electronic payment options while interacting with the patients. This will demonstrate to patients that your whole practice is on board with your e-billing practices, and that payment is expected at the time of service.

6. If patients are nervous to make payments electronically, you need to win their trust. When you introduce an electronic payment method, have a FAQ sheet posted in the office and/or give patients the sheet to take home. Revise your recorded telephone prompt to include a few lines about the new method. Tell patients, “We’re following federal laws on accepting payment via credit card to protect your privacy. Credit card payments make it easier to pay your bills.” When patients know that you’re protecting their data security, they’ll trust you and be more likely to pay.

7. Make sure your patient statements include Due and Past Due dates in red. Also, either remove or define any numerical codes that are on the statement that can potentially confuse patients. Make sure patients know exactly what they’re paying for.

8. Display messages in your office to convey to patients that they are your top priority. For example, Childs saw one practice post a sign that read, “Please turn off your phone so I can pay attention to you. You are the center of my universe.” Decorate your waiting room with light colors to help keep patients calm and take their fear away.

9. Have physicians and other practice staff try to do the job of your front desk staff. “The front desk is brutal,” says Childs. “They’re underappreciated and they’re the first ones asking for money.” Let physicians and other staff role play with front desk staffers pretending to be patients. The rest of your staff will see how difficult it is to handle money conversations with patients, which will help strengthen your entire practice in prioritizing patient collections.

E-billing options offer many benefits to practices and patients. But simply implementing an option isn’t enough. You have to make patients feel great and safe about using it—so that they actually pay you.