Workflows can be used for any task at hand in the office, such as treatment plans, ordering supplies, and to-do lists, but one of the best workflows you can make is to optimize your collections process. 

Many practices struggle in the area of collections. It should be simple: your practice provides a service with a fee and you collect the payment upfront. But it is not as easy as it seems. Collections can be very challenging for some when you have to keep track of so many insurance payments, patient payments, reminders, and transactions for each patient. 

With Healier’s visual workflows, you are able to eliminate office chaos by creating an online system for your practice to follow. By optimizing the digital efforts of a workflow, your practice’s collections process will run much smoother and efficiently, leading to the recovery of debt. It is also a guide rail for training your team and reducing the headache of training new team members when there is staff turnover.

Transitioning Your Practice’s Billing Workflow

To start your practice’s transition to a collection workflow, you need to communicate this properly with your team. Communication is key for any new process in an office to be successful. While your whole team should be in the know, you can ultimately designate one member to oversee the workflow. 

It is important to make sure the team member responsible for the process of the new collection understands how a workflow operates. Basic knowledge of a workflow is needed for a successful collections process. Once the team member understands how to create, edit, and personalize a workflow, they are able to personalize the collections process easier and efficiently. 

Now is your time to determine what method your practice will follow when doing collections. You may already have a process that works but take into consideration these two basic ideas of how to utilize your new collections workflow adequately.

Sample Workflows for Collections

The Five-Notice Technique

Notices are the backbone of collections. These notices generally are phone calls and letters to patients about their past due balances. When using old-school methods of collections, it is easy for a practice to make mistakes with said notices. For example, without following a strict notice schedule, you leave room for too many phone calls and not enough written letters or vice versa. In turn, this leads to miscommunication between the practice and patient, making payment seemingly impossible to get. The Five-Notice Technique allows you to create a workflow with a meticulous schedule to avoid these common errors. 

There are specific steps to this workflow that are, as always, customizable to individual offices. For this example, we will stick to our basic measurements to share the potential of this technique:

The Four-Step Solution

The Four-Step Solution is a more relaxed version of collections. In some practices, this may be all you need to collect your payment. If not, add a few steps to see what works best for your office. 

Like any workflow, this technique is created to be repeated. Once the fourth step is completed, or not completed, it will then repeat for the same patient or move on to the next. 

1. Generate Statement
Create your patient’s statement based on their remaining balance after the service they have had.

2. Review Statement
Review the patient’s statement to make sure everything is correct, including the balance, the service information and their prices, and any personal information that is needed.

3. Present Statement
Once the statement is created and reviewed, you are ready to send it to the patient. 

4. Collect Payment
Once the patient receives the statement, collect their payment. If they have not paid, then repeat steps 1 through 3 for the second notice. Repeat as needed.

Customize your workflow as you see fit to accomplish your practice’s goal of receiving payment. It can be whatever works best for you, as long as you are able to keep track of your process accurately and follow it effortlessly. 

Benefits of a Collections Workflow

Workflows have endless benefits, as they help your practice immensely in the digital aspect of office management. For collections though, there are benefits you might have not even thought about. 

• Easy to keep track. You can see the who, what, and where of each patient’s progress through collections. You can view and record who is a frequent flyer to your collections workflow and needs reevaluating with their payments and services, as well as those who are quick to pay when they get their first notice. 
  
• Less awkward conversations. By having a set system in place, you know what you need to say and when to say it to the patient when collecting payment. There are no more awkward conversations regarding lost letters and statements or forgetfulness, as you are on a strict schedule with evidence to back your claim.
  
• Avoids common errors. Common errors such as multiple calls or letters, statements to the wrong address, or no follow-ups are eliminated when a workflow is in place. There is a strict system to keep you on track with the process, leaving no room for error.
  
• Reduces write-offs and bad debt. Having consistent communication with patients regarding their statements leads to payment being collected in a timely manner and if not, then they are sent to a third party. When this process becomes more established and known, patients will tend to pay faster reducing write-offs and bad debt.

Make the Switch Now and Collect Payment Faster

Switching to a collection’s workflow is one of the best things you can do for your practice. With Healier, you are able to visually interact with your patient’s information and status as they go through your billing process, while easily tracking their collections through every stage. This new process can bring in your money quickly, recouping thousands of dollars that could be lost through traditional billing. There will be no more collections slipping through the cracks and the money your practice deserves will come in faster and more predictably. Take advantage and optimize a collections workflow in your practice with Healier. 

Workflows make the office simpler, smoother, and efficient. Start yours now.