One fifth of your office’s revenue consists of patient co-pays. If your patients pay late, or don’t make payments, it could cause damage to your medical practice. 20 percent of revenue is significant, so collecting patient co-pays is a must.
Prioritizing patients co-payments is one thing, but patients still may not be able to make payments on-time, or they might ask why a co-pay is necessary. These can make collections more troublesome than they should be. Here are three ways easier ways to collect patient co-pays.
Patients need reminders about their payments, so it’s important that you communicate with them. Medical practices tend to have difficulties collecting because patients aren’t sure what to pay until the deadline, at which time they are not prepared to pay. Effectively telling or showing your patients what they have to pay and what insurance can pay for them before their appointment will eliminate confusion. Establishing a simple, concrete co-pay policy can demonstrate the importance of co-pays. If patients have issues, you can show a policy that is indisputable and easy to understand.
Nowadays, money can come in the form of other means besides cash. Patients can spend money with credit cards or electronic payments. Patients are no longer expected to have dollars with them when they need to make payments. Giving patients as many payment options as possible helps them pay on time. If paying in cash is your only option, patients will find it much more inconvenient to pay. With credit cards or online payments, they will have money ready to use, ensuring that your co-pays will be collected on time.
Sometimes, patients simply forget to pay you. Rather than trusting the patient, your practice should remind them, either via phone or email. Many medical practices issue monthly and weekly reminders to patients. The more often patients are reminded, the more likely they will pay.
