A dental practice must always try to ensure a positive patient experience for a patient. Beyond just rendering quality service and treatment, a relationship can turn sour when it comes to any financial conversation and other dental collection challenges. The team needs to display tact and patience when it comes to dental collection challenges and recovering pending dues from patients.
There are multiple reasons why collecting dues from patient payments is difficult. A few barriers to patient collections are as below:
Incorrect patient data: Billing can be effective when the dental team has access to precise patient information. When the data is incorrect or when wrong data is tracked, the team needs to make corrections, and that can lead to delays in collections and a negative experience.
Coding errors: When the billing team has entered incorrect codes, it can lead to incorrect charges. This, in turn, leads to claim denials in addition to confusion for the patient and a possible loss of trust. This causes delays in payments, which affects the revenue cycle management for the practice.
Spurt in insurance costs: The cost of insurance is on the rise, and when denials also increase, it can add to patient dissatisfaction and payment delays.
While payment collection can be a cause of frustration for a patient and an insurance company, it can also have a big impact on the financial health of the practice.
Delays in patient payments impact the practice as they may not have adequate cash available to precisely represent the revenue cycle and a more perfect view of their cash flow. Verifying patient information and demographics, as well as ensuring the timely collection of patient dues, can lower the rework throughout the revenue cycle. This then results in lower claim denials and greater cash flows.
Collection of outstanding dues is a tough task. To ensure higher collection rates, the dental team can leverage technology as well as a defined process to ensure the collection process is smooth and efficient. This would also result in a more precise receivables statement for the practice.
Mobile Apps
Nearly all patients today use some mobile app in their daily lives. A dental practice must not be left behind. A mobile app enables a patient to check for all details remotely and at a time of their convenience. They can check if their information is accurate before the appointment and reduce the possibility of any incorrect patient information.
Moreover, an app offers a patient a faster and smoother payment experience. A patient might pay bills faster if they had access to an app. A patient also gets notifications about bills and dues that are pending. An app also aids patients with scheduling and not just
payments. Such convenience can trigger patients to pay on time while also making it easier to understand what they are paying for.
Payment during check-in
Collecting payments at the time of check-in can be a great step by the dental team. Most practices take a long time to collect patient payments. Collecting payment when a patient arrives helps prevent delays in collection while also verifying and correcting patient information.
Since the payment is collected at the time of check-in, the receivables due decrease, and this helps boost cash flow. An upfront payment also lowers the administrative hassles for the team in tracking and following up on payments and any possible bad debt.
Online prepayment option
The dental team must try to collect payment from a patient through online options even before the actual appointment. This helps to boost the payment collection process. Making payment online is also easy and convenient for patients who are comfortable with such an option. The practice needs to integrate an online prepayment into the patient registration process. This helps a patient to be aware of the financial responsibilities that would be associated with the treatment.
A patient needs collection processes to be smooth and transparent. A patient is more likely to cancel or postpone an appointment if no accurate estimate has been provided. Many patients are in a better position to pay if the practice offers payment plans and options that increase their ability to pay.
An automated patient estimate equips patients with an accurate view of the expected cost of care in advance. This intimation helps a patient to utilize the time between fixing the appointment and the actual treatment to make financial arrangements. The patient will also not be surprised by a bill amount that has not been anticipated.
The practice can also offer flexibility to patients through structured payment plans. Analytics and data can gauge individual patient details and judge their ability to pay.
An absence of training and tools can affect payment collections. The practice must enable the team with the latest tools and data that can help in addressing payment issues quickly and prevent them from creating problems in the future.
Tools can offer comprehensive insights through interactive dashboards. The team can receive real-time data on revenue, activity reports, aging of invoices, as well as rejection details. This data makes the collection process prompt and precise.
A dependence on manual processes can hamper registrations and payments. Patients need help in comprehending insurance coverage. Automation tools can be of help here, as they can scan patient details and enlighten patients on the extent of coverage available.
One can build the capability to suggest alternative payment methods that can lower the financial strain on patients. This can drastically reduce any financial risk for the practice and the patient.
The dental team needs to be periodically trained in handling patient interactions and boosting collection rates. The team can be provided with sample dialogues and role-playing exercises. Objection handling can be part of the training process.
The practice needs to conduct regular training workshops that take into consideration evolving patient issues. The team can also be trained in financial counselling. This can help them offer solutions to patients with extra care. The team can also be trained to settle minor patient billing disagreements within specified limits. This prevents declined payments and bad debts.
Patient collection for any dental practice is vital as it helps manage cash flows that ultimately affect the financial health of the practice. The practice must instill best practices to make collections as smooth and accurate as possible. Partnering with Capline Dental Services can support these efforts through proven strategies and expert guidance. Regular training and following predefined guidelines will help boost patient collections while also maintaining positive cash flows.
