Effective Ways to Make Sure You’re Getting Paid for the Services You Provide
At Office Practicum, we understand that patient collections can be difficult, and obtaining payments in a pediatric office presents unique challenges. Sick, upset children. Frazzled, sleep-deprived parents. Rambunctious younger siblings. Bored older siblings.
We get it. That’s why we have OP RCM, our singularly focused pediatric billing service, tailored to meet your specific needs.
We realize the cost of producing each family’s statements — and subsequent statements if they don’t pay the first time — adds up quickly, and we want to assist you with lessening that cost. However, the most important way OP RCM helps you decrease the expense of patient statements is by setting you up with systems that ensure you get paid for the pediatric services you provide.
Four Effective Ways to Decrease the Expense of Patient Statements
1. Upfront Payments
This is extremely important.
When we say upfront payments, though, it’s not just copays anymore. With high-deductible health insurance plans becoming more and more common, we know that pediatric practices need solutions that help them determine what the patient’s deductible is and where they stand in meeting that deductible. We also work with our OP RCM clients to understand what is covered by insurance. All of these factors help pediatric practices figure out what the patient’s financial responsibility will be and collect adequate upfront payments.
Obviously, an upfront payment is not going to be 100 percent, but OP RCM will help you learn how to collect as much as you can. We even train you on how to talk to stressed moms and dads about upfront payments and copays.
2. Credit Card on File
Speaking of talking to exhausted parents, one of the best strategies for collecting upfront payments is to use a saved credit card. Asking, “Can I just run the credit card that you have on file?” is much easier than requesting a mom or dad get out a credit card and enter a pin or sign.
With OP RCM, your patients can choose how the credit card on file is used. They might select the option that requires their permission to run it, like when they’re standing in front of your staff at the front desk. Or, they may allow the card to be charged any time there’s a balance or within so many days of a statement’s processing date.
No matter what method they choose, the credit card on file is a great way to ensure you’re collecting payments. And, it’s easy for patients!
3. Customized Statements for Families
Our OP RCM experts work with clients to create customized statements, personalized with your practice information and logo. By using attractive colors and clear language on how to pay, our statements are enhanced to increase the chance of prompt payment.
In addition, parents who have multiple children don’t want to get separate statements for each child. And, do you really want the added expense of multiple statements when they’re all being delivered to the same mailbox or landing in the same email account?
OP allows you to set up a financial guarantor, while OP RCM assists with the process. This ability ensures you send one family statement — with everyone’s pediatric billing charges. This keeps families happy and organized, but it also helps your pediatric practice decrease the expense of patient statements.
4. A Solid Collections Policy
Having a collections policy is an essential step in making sure you’re getting paid for the pediatric services you provide. OP RCM recommends starting the collections process after three unpaid statements.
As part of the OP RCM service, we work with clients to develop a collections letter. This includes a first notice, then a final notice before actually sending a patient to collections.
One of the hardest things about the collections policy is sticking to it. A key point to remember is that you deserve to be paid for the hard work you do for your patients.
Taking the Next Step
Are you ready to decrease the expense of patient statements in your pediatric practice? Check out the OP RCM page on our website, watch the video, and learn how to get in touch with one of our pediatric billing experts.