In this post I wanted to discuss the economics on “bill me later policy” that many medical and/or dental offices subscribe to. I have inherited the policy and despite what my consultants have told me, kept it for the fear of alienating the patients and loosing them (…Oh the almighty elusive patient god, how can I appease you… ).
So in my years as practice owner this is what I have observed. Firstly, one of the most important, if not the most important aspects of billing is setting the expectation right from the start – expectation of what the services will cost and how much the patient will have to come up with up front. With this out of the way, why should there be the need for billing later policy? Begs the question of financial affordability and if the patient is capable to accept the cost for a given service. So now you have a patient who can not afford the service you just provided receive the bill. What is now going through their head? If he is a responsible citizen, he will pull the check book and send you the payment and you are only out a postage stamp; for the other half, however, the wheels will start turning how can they weasel out of paying it. Starts delaying, avoiding your calls, first notice, second notice, collection letter…. Meanwhile your OH is getting up and up and up with the staff you have to pay; and now this patient’s cleaning appointment coming up and he’s not confirmed… guess what – think he’s showing up so you can harass him for his late payment and make him feel bad? Nope. How much did that missed appointment just cost you? Time to send them to collections agency. With that decision, you just lost all of your profit because your best bet is to get half of what was owed, but now you have lost the patient, all their family and friends. How much did that just cost you in marketing dollars? Or are you writing off the service? What you thing that does to your OH?
My patients don’t do this you say? So even if it’s one in 100 or one in 1,000 – this policy costs you thousands of dollar per year and opens you to no good experience for both the patient and the practice. Please <STOP>!
Bottom line. Set yourself for success from the beginning, Avoid barriers and make arrangements for payment ahead of time. No surprise billing. Let the patient make the educated decision if that filling or crown is worth to him more then the new i-phone. And you just wait there with a smile to take him/her back like estranged son/daughter returning to his parents house, always welcome and always loved 🙂
…hope to be of service, my dental assasins…
C-Bug, DDS
