Even the most regular and faithful patients can fall behind on payments from time to time. But if you constantly struggle with dental collections, it may be time to make an overhaul of your billing and insurance protocol. Bills should not go 30 days without being paid. When patients regularly fail to pay after a month, this likely indicates a problem with your accounts receivable collections system.
To get your dental collections back on track, work with the team at Dental Practice Enhancement. We will take a close look at your administrative practices and find any weaknesses that may be preventing you from collecting in a timely manner. Then building on your existing strengths, we can help you establish policies that will ensure time-appropriate payment. Alternatively, you can take advantage of our remote administrative services and allow us to handle your dental collections entirely!
Contact us to learn more about how we can assist your practice.
1. Verify Benefits Ahead of Time
If you are not already doing so, verifying insurance benefits prior to treatment is the number one way to improve your dental collections. Verification reduces the likelihood of denied insurance claims and saves patients from the shock of a huge bill several months after treatment. After verification, charge patients the remaining balance before their procedures.
2. Use Preauthorization Forms for Dental Collections
Even with verification, there may be occasions when patients are responsible for an additional balance after insurance has paid out its benefits. In these cases, preauthorization forms can be immensely helpful. These forms allow you to keep your patients’ credit or debit card information on file and to charge the cards the remaining balance. Just be sure to notify patients of the charges and to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
3. Offer Payment Plans
To help patients cover their out-of-pocket costs, consider financing options. Third-party financing, such as CareCredit®, can be a good solution. But for smaller bills, think about interest-free installment plans. The timeframe for payment should be relatively short, and patients should be made aware of the consequences of unpaid bills upfront.
4. Consider New Payment Options
The trend is clear: checks are out and digital payments are in. Of course, you are already accepting credit and debit cards. But if you’re not doing so, offer more up-to-date payment methods. Patients may appreciate options like Pay-by-Text and digital wallets.
5. Write a Collections Call Script
Even with these protocols in place, there may be times when you have to call patients and ask for payment. In these cases, having a collections script is essential. When asking for payment, you have to be firm, yet understanding, resolved, yet friendly. It’s a fine line to walk and can be quite difficult. If you need help writing your collections script, the team at Dental Practice Enhancement can help!
6. Outsource Your Dental Collections
To completely eliminate the stress of dental collections, allow us to handle it for you! We run weekly reports and consistently follow-up with patients to dramatically lower your accounts receivable.
Contact Dental Practice Enhancement for Assistance
Interested in our financial services or looking to set up training for your team? Contact Dental Practice Enhancement online or call us at (833) DPE-FOR-U.
