Credit to your practice: Letting patients pay with plastic

Physicians are increasingly letting patients say "charge it." Casting payments onto plastic can be convenient for them and cost-effective for you.

By Julie A. Jacob, AMNews staff. July 29, 2002.

You probably use credit cards routinely to pay for goods and services in your professional life, such as medical equipment and supplies, continuing education courses, society membership dues and so on.

But credit cards can also be a quick and convenient way for your patients to pay you for your services, and some experts say that if you don't accept them or don't encourage patients to pay for their treatment using credit cards, you're slowing down your payment cycle and losing potential revenue.

Giving your patients the option to pay their deductibles, co-payments and uncovered bills by credit card can save your practice money on billing costs, help you get paid more quickly and avoid the hassles of bounced checks.

The key to successfully incorporating credit card payments into your practice, however, is to teach your staff to remind patients about the option of paying by credit card and to encourage your patients to take advantage of that option.

About 75% of physician practices already accept credit card payments for deductibles, co-payments and other services not covered by insurance, according to Pamela Moore, a consultant with Physicians Practice, Inc. In addition, 95% of group practices accept credit card payments, according to Medical Group Management Assn. data.

Louisiana Women's Healthcare Associates, a practice in Baton Rouge, has accepted credit cards for four years, said the group's CEO Tom Schmidt. About 40% of the group's patients are paying their share of the bill by credit card, usually at the time of service, he said. [...]