very billing service is interested in improving its business and collecting more for its clients. However, implementing technology and process changes often seem like a major project that the typical billing service is too busy to undertake. to understand how a billing service can improve its collections process without expending too many resources, i spoke with barry haitoff, ceo of medical management corporation of america (mmcoa), a healthcare billing service for group practices in multiple states. over the past two years, mmcoa has improved its days in accounts receivable and reduced administrative costs by applying some simple best practices to its collections process. according to barry, these are the top five best practices his organization has used to generate results for his business and his clients: 1. Throw Out the Bank Terminal to collect patient card payments, mmcoa had been using a clunky bank terminal, which tied up a phone line. the main issue was that the billing service had to run a report of all card payments for each client at the end of each day and manually reconcile them with cash and check payments, which was time consuming and error prone. mmcoa solved this problem by using an integrated card swipe device that posts payments online immediately, allowing mmcoa and its clients to access summary reports on all payments online. “online accessibility to payments is a necessity in this day and age,” said barry. “our clients expect visibility and easy access to what’s being collected without dealing with paper receipts and manually adding up a paper credit card report.” 2. Offer a Patient Portal Payment Option since most patients do not pay after receiving the first paper statement, mmcoa spent a lot of time and money sending multiple statements to each patient and making follow-up phone calls to collect payments over the phone. today, mmcoa enables clients to collect patient payments through a web portal, which has increased collections by making payments more convenient for patients. additionally, mmcoa collects payments faster when patients pay online without spending administrative resources to chase down the payments. “my advice for offering online patient payments is to display your website as prominently as possible on your statements,” said barry. “if you can get patients to go straight to their computers and pay you right away, you’re not only collecting faster, you’re saving money.” 3. Automate Payment Plans for patients with high deductibles, mmcoa has always offered the option of payment plans. this meant managing payment schedules on a calendar and remembering to call each patient when a payment was due. “if billing services are not automating the payment plan process, they’re wasting a lot of time on the phone that could be spent improving other areas of their businesses,” said barry. “We securely save patient payment information, customize a payment plan based on the patient’s budget, and an automated notification goes to the patient before each payment is processed. it’s a no-brainer.” 36 hbma billing • march.aPril.2013 best Practices for busy billing services to collect more Patient Payments INCREASE EFFICIENCIES AND SAVE MONEY By Bill Marvin E
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