Collecting the patient portion: Being proactive, early and often

With insured patients paying a larger share of their health costs, it's increasingly important for doctors to get that payment as soon as possible. Here's how.

By Pamela Lewis Dolan, AMNews staff. April 2, 2007.

Most doctors would love the luxury of giving longtime patients a wink and nod and telling them not to worry about paying their share up front.

But today's catchphrase "consumer-driven health care" not only means more is coming out of the patient's pocket, but also the consumer is driving a more significant portion of the physician's revenue. The growth of high-deductible health plans and PPOs means a patient is probably having to cover a lot more than the $10 or $20 of an HMO co-pay.

Experts say taking a lax approach to collecting the patient portion could have a significant and negative impact on the practice's finances. But being proactive about collecting from the patient could save your practice money and improve cash flow.

The key, experts say, is to place the priority on the front end and eliminate as much back-end collection as possible, including the standard paper bill.

"It's the new consumer-driven health care; you are going to have to [place priority at the front end] in your practice in order to cover your own cash flow," said Cindy Dunn, RN, a consultant with the Englewood, Colo.-based Medical Group Management Assn.

"The biggest thing with co-pay collections has been to avoid [collecting] them," said Ron Rosenberg, MPH, president and founder of Practice Management Resource Group. "But it's a losing proposition to have to bill for them."

Eliminating, or at least significantly reducing, the billing process and collecting from patients at the time of service may be easier than you think.