Collections Consulting Services
Healthcare Collections: Picking a Qualified Agency for Your Organization
The complexities of healthcare make it difficult for private practices, physician groups, or health systems to find a capable collection agency. You want to keep your patients happy, but you also don’t want to fall behind financially. Thankfully, Bloom Consulting Agency in South Florida can help you with the right healthcare collections services that will keep your revenue goals on track and your patients satisfied. Accordingly, the revenue recovery partner you select should be educated and eloquent as they need to be able to treat your patients with respect while effectively informing them about the collection process.
What to Look For in a Healthcare Collection Agency
Collecting payment from patients is a delicate process. Therefore, to ensure a healthcare collection agency will handle the situation with care, they must be experienced and qualified professionals. Moreover, they must be able to work with a wide range of medical facilities and specialties. This way, they meet the specific needs of your organization. Focuses that a healthcare collections service should be familiar with include but are not limited to:
Additionally, it is important that the agency be seasoned in all facets of healthcare collections, especially in resolving medical billing invoices. They should also be willing to work with your organization’s management companies.
The Legal Side of Healthcare Collections
A major component of healthcare collections is making sure the process is executed legally and ethically. Collection agencies should be thoroughly trained on all relevant laws and regulations as the failure to abide by legal policies will have lasting effects for all involved. They should be well-versed in the following:
The Benefits of Using a Healthcare Collections Agency
The ins and outs of your organization’s billing are not what you want to focus your time on. By using a healthcare collections service, those worries are off of your plate. They organize and handle all collection-related proceedings, so you don’t have to. Some of the typical services they provide include:
Account scrubbing
When people pass away, go bankrupt, or have initiated litigation, their accounts might need to be scrubbed. This also takes care of duplicates and other errors.
Monitoring and reporting credit
If a patient refuses to resolve their account, collections can report them to one of the major credit bureaus (i.e. TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian). This typically stays on their credit report for seven years.
Skip tracing
It is not uncommon for patients to suddenly be hard to locate. Through the use of databases, collections services are able to find new phone numbers and accurate addresses for these individuals. This way, their account can be resolved and your organization can get paid.
Litigation and attorney referral services
If your organization needs to issue a payment demand, then a collection agency can refer an attorney that will make said demand. Furthermore, if your organization must take a patient to court, then litigation referral services can be provided.
Patient Care and Healthcare Collections
Nobody likes being sent to collections—often coming across as harsh to patients. However, a skilled collection specialist makes this process not only go smoothly on the organization’s end but on the patient’s side as well. They are not rude to patients—communicating that they understand and are simply trying to resolve the account issue in the best way possible. The following are ways healthcare collections services keep patient experience in mind:
ENCOURAGING REPAYMENT OPTIONS
Collection specialists make every effort to ensure your patients are aware of all the repayment options available to them. This way, patients can make an informed choice on how to settle their medical debts. When applicable, both patients and organizations can benefit from giving patients online access to their own accounts. It allows them to make payments from anywhere with ease.
MAKING PROFESSIONAL AND COMPASSIONATE CALLS TO PATIENTS
Collection agencies remain friendly when calling patients—after all, they do not want them to immediately hang up. Patients cannot feel attacked or looked down on. However, their account does need to be resolved, so it is important that those speaking are also firm with patients. This requires a careful balance, best executed by skilled collection specialists.
SENDING DIRECT LETTERS
Letters are a crucial aspect of collections. Many patients do not feel comfortable discussing their medical debts over the phone. It can also be helpful for them to have the amount and terms of their debts in writing. This helps them keep track and stay organized.
Healthcare Collections Consulting Services in Florida
Your healthcare organization needs to be the best in every department in order for it to run successfully—including collections. It is time to put your organization’s collections needs into the hands of the professionals at Bloom Consulting Agency who are experienced with these services. It is a tedious and downright draining process that you and your organization should not have to worry about. Additionally, outstanding accounts will be paid quicker and more time will be freed up to focus on patient care. Do your organization a favor by contacting Bloom Consulting to upgrading your collection system today.
