Urology Coding Alert

Collection agencies can be a great way to bring in the money--if you can't collect it in-house

A small-practice urology biller can sometimes feel like a tightrope artist--walking the fine line between running a good business and upholding a good reputation within the community.

Small-practice collections can be both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that you see patients regularly and have the opportunity to develop a good relationship with them. Yet tricky situations arise when you have to resort to an outside collector in a community where word travels fast.

Use these seven time-tested tips to improve your collections success:

1. Prevent overdue balances on the front end. Have a clear-cut financial policy that tells patients what you expect from them with regard to payment. For example: "Payment of copays is expected at time of service," and "balances after insurance must be paid within 90 days." You should also include what fees you will charge for returned checks, form completions, no-shows, etc.

Copays are key: Collect all copays up-front. "I've seen practices cut their collections by 10 percent if they just collect copays up-front," says Heather Corcoran, coding manager at CGH Billing in Louisville, Ky. Your best opportunity to collect on any balance is when the patient is in front of you, which include copays as well as balances from prior services.

Arrange payment plans early: The biller responsible for collections and A/R should discuss any outstanding account balances with a patient at checkout. "Patients are usually more likely to arrange for payment when they're standing in front of you," Corcoran says. "Once they leave the practice, it's much harder to collect."

2. Discuss your collections policy with your physicians. The biller handling collections and A/R should sit down with the urologists to discuss how they want to handle patient accounts. Ask how aggressive you should be in collecting balances--this conversation will ensure that you aren't using collection methods that the physicians disagree with.

3. Try pleasant phone call reminders first. Sometimes all a patient needs is a gentle reminder that his account is overdue. But make sure you actually talk to the patient and don't just leave a message asking him to call you back.

Be flexible: Your billing and collections contact may have to adjust his work schedule so he can stay until 6 or 7 p.m. one or two days a week. This extra time will allow your practice to catch patients who aren't accessible at work during the day.

4. Stick to a standard collection process. Practices use various methods for collections, but most send three letters and then call the patient on the phone before they consider using an outside collector. If the patient still hasn't paid by the time the [...]