Understanding the Collection Process
Understanding the Collection Process
Procedure for Contacting a Patient 1. You can only contact the patient once a day between the hours of 8am. and 9pm. You cannot leave more than three messages within a week. 2. Begin to call the patient when the bill reaches forty-five days in the patient aging report. 3. You must maintain professionalism and do not threaten the patient or use profane language. 4. You can only disclose the information to anyone other than the patient. 5. If you have to leave a message on an answering machine, do not indicate the call is about a debt.
Procedure for Communicating with Patients 1. When the patient is contacted, you must identify yourself, the practice, and the purpose of the call. When you are speaking to the patient, you must verify that the patient has received a copy of the bill. You must also inform the patient of the status of their account and what needs to be accomplished. 2. If the patient informs you that the check is in the mail, get the check number, amount the check is for, and the date the check was mailed out. 3. If the patient informs you that they would like to pay at a different time, you need to contact the account manager and set up a payment plan. 4. If the patient requests the phone calls to stop, then you must stop call and begin to communicate by mail. 5. If the patient requests you contact an attorney, get the appropriate information and contact the attorney. Do not contact the patient unless you cannot get in contact with the attorney. 6. When a call is complete, the conversation is documented. Abbreviations are used to quickly document the phone calls. The abbreviations are on another form.
When to Contact a Collection Agency
The timetable we use is as follows: 30 Days Bill Patient 45 Days Call Patient Regarding Bill 60 Days Letter 1 75 Days Letter 2 and Telephone Call 80 Days Letter 3 90 Days Turn over to Collection Agency
Procedure for Contacting a Patient 1. You can only contact the patient once a day between the hours of 8am. and 9pm. You cannot leave more than three messages within a week. 2. Begin to call the patient when the bill reaches forty-five days in the patient aging report. 3. You must maintain professionalism and do not threaten the patient or use profane language. 4. You can only disclose the information to anyone other than the patient. 5. If you have to leave a message on an answering machine, do not indicate the call is about a debt.
Procedure for Communicating with Patients 1. When the patient is contacted, you must identify yourself, the practice, and the purpose of the call. When you are speaking to the patient, you must verify that the patient has received a copy of the bill. You must also inform the patient of the status of their account and what needs to be accomplished. 2. If the patient informs you that the check is in the mail, get the check number, amount the check is for, and the date the check was mailed out. 3. If the patient informs you that they would like to pay at a different time, you need to contact the account manager and set up a payment plan. 4. If the patient requests the phone calls to stop, then you must stop call and begin to communicate by mail. 5. If the patient requests you contact an attorney, get the appropriate information and contact the attorney. Do not contact the patient unless you cannot get in contact with the attorney. 6. When a call is complete, the conversation is documented. Abbreviations are used to quickly document the phone calls. The abbreviations are on another form.
When to Contact a Collection Agency
The timetable we use is as follows: 30 Days Bill Patient 45 Days Call Patient Regarding Bill 60 Days Letter 1 75 Days Letter 2 and Telephone Call 80 Days Letter 3 90 Days Turn over to Collection Agency