If you struggle with your dental collections, it can quickly change the nature of your practice, becoming a major headache that looms large over everything. Billing and insurance shouldn’t become the focus of your job. And if you work with the right administrative experts, it doesn’t have to!
The team at Dental Practice Enhancement knows just how difficult dental collections can be. If not handled properly, it can create permanent tension between you and loyal patients. That is why we offer training and remote assistance with collections and other billing needs.
Contact us today to learn more about our services and to find out how we can help your practice become more profitable.
Offer More Convenient Payment Options
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, online and mobile bill pay has become more popular than ever. In fact, during the pandemic, the use of mobile wallets to pay bills jumped from 900 million to 1.48 billion worldwide.
The numbers speak for themselves – the public likes to make payments via website and mobile. If your practice doesn’t already have a patient portal and bill pay option, it’s time to up your technological game.
Offer Financing
When patients simply can’t afford to pay their bills, the best dental collections methods will do little good. By offering financing options, you not only increase profitability. You also gain the goodwill of your patients. Along with third-party financing, consider offering in-house payment plans.
Be Insistent and Persistent
Your attempts to collect bills should begin with a simple letter, text, or email. (Using patients’ preferred methods of communication can improve your dental collections considerably.) But if the initial communiques don’t work, you can’t let unpaid bills slide. Maintaining a courteous, nonjudgmental tone, issue repeated collections notifications on a set schedule. Eventually, you will need to alert patients regarding your plan to collect.
Be Cautious about Legal Action
Although you should be clear about the consequences of unpaid bills, lawsuits and collections agencies can be a PR nightmare. On top of that, legal fees can be exorbitant, and it will mean hours of additional work for your administrative team. We recommend legal action only as a very last resort. You should also research your state’s dental practice act before taking this step.
Make Sure Your Team Is Properly Trained
The way your team handles dental collections plays a huge role in how successfully you handle unpaid bills. Payment requests, especially repeated ones, must be made with tact. It is vital that you have a plan in place and use standard scripts to keep the conversations respectful and to-the-point.
If your team doesn’t have the necessary background, we offer dental collections training. We will help you write a script and create a step-by-step payment policy and collections plan.
Outsource Your Dental Collections
Finally, you don’t have to deal with dental collections at all. Let our experts do the work! By working with our remote administrative experts, you take the pressure off of your team, allowing them to focus on patient interactions and making every office visit a positive experience.
Contact Dental Practice Enhancement
Don’t let dental collections become the bane of your practice.
Contact us online to learn more about our training and administrative services. You can also reach us at (833) DPE – FOR – U.
