Collections are never a fun process for anyone to go through. After all, who likes owing money to other people or businesses? Most individuals don’t. However, your patients shouldn’t have to go through a painful collection process if they don’t have to. Making collections easier for your patients also will increase your recovery rate, which means more cash flow for your business.
So, how can you make collections less painful for your patients? We’ve gathered 4 creative tips for you to consider implementing to ease the process.
1. Offer incentives for patients to pay early.
Early-out payments, which incentivize patients to pay their full bills earlier rather than later, are a great way to allow your patients flexibility and ease the pain of having debt hanging over their shoulders. Additionally, having the ability to reduce the bill by a bit for paying in full is an attractive offer and should not be dismissed.
2. Make customer service as accessible as possible.
Have a phone line that can take calls at most hours as well as live chat and email support is needed and desired by your patients! This may seem like too much work for your staff, but outsourcing your healthcare collections to an agency will make this a much more viable option. Assuring your patients that they are cared for and well taken care of throughout the entire collection process will make repaying you seem that much easier.
3. Always listen to your patients with empathy and kindness.
Practicing empathy, the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand what they may be going through is a highly valued skill. You should make sure to train your collections staff on how to deal with patients going through rough times and not being able to meet stringent payment plans by having empathy and kindness in all interactions with them. Patients who feel seen, heard, and understood are that much more willing to pay you what they owe you.
4. Provide flexible payment plans.
From self-pay collections to early-out payments, flexible payment plans on a variety of different timelines will allow your patients to feel like their unique financial situations are being accommodated by their provider. This flexibility does not go unnoticed. However, make sure you don’t offer too many options or you’ll cause decision fatigue and may overwhelm your patients.
Last but not least, hiring a professional healthcare collections agency to bring on their state-of-the-art technology and tried and true systems of maximizing recovery while preserving patient-provider relationships will make your collections easier for patients. Want to explore the option of working with a healthcare collections agency? Contact Frost-Arnett at (615) 259-6271 today. We’d be delighted to speak with you!