Cash Flow Enhancement

Mr. Shipman helps practices improve their bottom line through Improved Efficiency, Lower Taxes, Improved Collections, and Lower Lease Rates.

Blog By:
Josh Shipman

With receivables becoming more and more patient responsibility, many practices are looking for alternatives to their traditional billing and revenue cycle management process. One piece of the revenue cycle puzzle is final write off and collections, which can be a negative experience when improperly implemented. There are five things practices should look for in a collections partner:

1. Is your agency investing in your success or theirs? Do they follow-up regularly and offer solutions to actually reduce the number of patients being sent to collections? Do they offer options to help your patients resolve their debts?
2. Is your agency compliant or do they place your practice at risk? Ask your agency how long they've been in business, where they are licensed, and what measures they take to be TCPA and PHI compliant. You might be surprised by what you hear.
3. Is your agency vetted or peer reviewed by the nation’s top medical or dental associations? Very few agencies have undergone the vetting process to become approved by groups like the AMA, AAOMS, MGMA, or peer reviewed by the HFMA. These organizations have access to industry specific benchmarks so you can be assured that their stamp of approval has credibility for top performance and satisfaction.
4. Do you keep 100% of your money or does the agency take a Big Cut? It may be a surprise, but not all agencies charge a percentage. On average, practices are seeing 3-5 times higher net returns by using a flat fee approach. Agencies using this method typically charge just $10-$12 per account (no matter the balance size) and patients pay you directly, were you keep 100% of your money. This approach also provides staff with an opportunity to coach patients, allowing them to return as valuable customers.
5. Does your agency offer technology solutions? Ask your agency if they offer solutions for your specific EMR or PM software. These solutions help staff save time and manage accounts by securely transferring only accounts they’ve selected without time consuming data entry or reviewing pages of aging accounts. Most will even update the agency to stop service automatically when payments are posted into your software. In many cases, there is no cost associated with this service.