Being a medical professional can be exhausting. The hours are long, the work requires consistent concentration, and it can be emotionally draining too.
This is all made worse during a global pandemic. That’s why medical professionals need to use their energy efficiently. Here are some tips to avoid burn out when it comes time to collect outstanding payments.
Be Diligent on Your End First
Before it comes to collecting outstanding payments, make sure that you’ve followed all the correct billing procedures in the first place. Doing so can help eliminate the uncomfortable situation where a payment is outstanding.
It’s also good to gently follow up on the bill before the invoice is formally due. Hopefully, you have a positive relationship with patients — this is a good and commendable thing in and of itself, and it’ll also make questions related to payments less awkward.
Feel for Your Patients
You can read literature from the medical bill collecting experts at Summitcollects.com/services/medical-collections/who adviseleading with empathy rather than with aggressive tactics. This approach is more professional and even more humane, but it also increases the odds of recouping the payment.
Perhaps this patienttypically pays, but they’re going through a struggle that has nothing to do with you. There are strong sensitivities at play when it comes to people’s health and wealth — begin the conversation with a calm and understanding tone, and proceed from that place.
Don’t Assume the Worst
Imagine grumbling and brooding over an unpaid bill, only to learn that your patient wasn’t ultimately responsible for the late payment.There could be legitimate explanations for delinquent payments.
There could be a snag in their insurance, or perhaps a technical problem caused a billing error somewhere along the line. Wanting to get paid is understandable, but restrain any show of emotion.
It does nothing to help recover the payment, and it could cause future friction between a patient who ultimately you want to treat again.
Call in the Professionals
After all other avenues are exhausted, the final way to avoid wasting energy collecting medical debts is to have the professionals do it. The best agencies use a compassionate approach to debt collection and have recovery rates that are double the national average.
Look for 100% HIPAA-compliant practices, and only rely on a company with an A+ BBB rating. Trying to recoup the money your practice needs to run on can involve some delicate or rough conversations with patients — know when to save your energy for your practice and call experienced and professional reinforcements.
Medical professionals put a lot of time, thought and care into their job, which is to heal people. But they have practical concerns like a practice to run and bills to pay, like everyone. They need all the mental energy they can get. Be considerate, thoughtful and humane with patients who have outstanding bills — if that doesn’t work, call medical bill collectors with a track record of compassion and success.