Greg Freeman | October 3, 2014
The Healthcare Financial Management Association and the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals have developed best practices to help physicians boost collections.
This article appears in the October 2014 issue of Managed Care Contracting and Reimbursement Advisor.
A set of best practices is available to guide both physician practices and any company they contract with to collect medical debts.
The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals developed the best practices in conjunction with an industry task force of healthcare providers, account resolution groups, and others.
The developers hope the best practices will be adopted throughout the healthcare industry, offering clear guidance on resolving financial obligations before, during, and after a patient’s visit to a hospital or other healthcare setting.
The practices are designed to improve communication be- tween patients and providers, and to standardize and better coordinate all business practices related to medical account resolution, says Joseph J. Fifer, FHFMA, CPA, president and CEO of HFMA.
These are the 10 best practices for physicians and their business partners seeking to reduce medical debt and improve collections:
1. Lay the groundwork for successful account resolution by educating patients and following best practices for communication prior to the time of service
2. Make bills and all communications clear, concise, correct, and patient-friendly
3. Establish policies for account resolution and ensure that they are followed both internally as well as by business affiliates
4. Be consistent in key aspects of account resolution—from billing disputes to payment application
5. Coordinate account resolution activities with business affiliates to avoid duplicative patient contacts
6. Exercise good judgment about the best ways to communicate with patients about bills
7. Start the account resolution clock when the first statement is sent to the patient
8. Report back to credit bureaus when an account is re- solved (in the event that an account is reported to a credit bureau)
9. Track all consumer complaints
10. Use guidelines (available from HFMA and other sources) to inform your organizational approach to medical account resolution
Source: Health Leaders Media
http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/print/FIN-309003/10-Best-Practices-to-Improve-Medical-Debt-Collection