staff are comfortable
having these conver-
sations with patients.
They need to understand the importance of collecting the money
up front. Again, we can't be the patients' bank, and it's not being
mean or harmful to patients to say so. It's simply being truly fiscal-
ly responsible. Most patients pay their bill with a credit card. If
they can't, we're able to offer of the services of the patient financ-
ing company.
Having a patient financing vendor on board is very helpful to your
business office on the back end of your financial transactions. It mini-
mizes your accounts receivable collection efforts and ensures a
steady revenue flow for the facility. Date-of-service collections make a
hugely positive impact on the bottom line of every center. If it turns
out that a patient's deductible was met elsewhere, prior to their proce-
dure here, the center can quickly refund the patient using their health-
care credit card, so they don't have to wait for us to sent them a
check.
Doing what's right
As the administrator, I'm involved in all the cases of people who can't
or won't pay up front. Unfortunately, a small percentage of patients
balk at paying, don't want to apply for a healthcare credit card and
have no intention of paying after the procedure. Sometimes the mere
mention by my staff of my involvement causes people to start produc-
ing money they said they didn't have right out of the sky. Other times,
I'll have to have a tough conversation, saying the procedure they're
about to have is elective, and they'll have to save money and come
back in several weeks.
Of course, there are always situations where a child needs their ton-
M A R C H 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 7 3
Working with a patient financing company
helps us maintain our cash flow
