Persistence, organization help get accounts received

Practice Management. By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. June 27, 2005.

It can be pretty depressing to scan your accounts receivable, adding the numbers up and feeling helpless as they seem to just float farther away.

Thirty days. Sixty days. Ninety days. Pretty soon, your accounts are more than 120 or even 180 days old, and all you can do is write them off as uncollectible.

But your accounts receivable don't have to be an income graveyard, health care consultants said. Organization and persistence can go a long way to helping you capture some of that revenue and making sure your AR doesn't translate into RIP.

Most physicians delegate billing and coding issues to staff, but that doesn't mean you should remove yourself completely from the picture, consultants said. Accounts receivable statements can tell you a lot about your practice, and improvements in collection techniques can be a financial advantage.

"The physician has to care," said Allan DeKaye, president and CEO of DeKaye Consulting Inc., in Oceanside, N.Y. "If they're not going to care about it, who is?"

Consistent tracking and calendar benchmarks are the first steps toward taking a proactive approach with your accounts receivable. Most insurers will have a fairly common reimbursement schedule, and billing software generally allows you to analyze claims and payments by company.

For example, if you know your local BlueCross BlueShield HMO pays claims within a few weeks, and you have claims that have been outstanding for 60 days, it's worth investigating, consultants said.