There are many, many reasons why some patients don’t pay a medical practice for its services. But it all amounts to the same for the practice itself. But it hits more than just your cash flow. When patients don’t pay, your medical practice loses more than you think.
The Bottom Line
The most obvious loss, of course, is the cost of your services. But that’s really just the beginning. Think of the costs associated with the specialized services of your medical practice. Whether you’re an anesthesiologist, hospitalist, surgeon, or radiologist, your services take time, effort and manpower. What are you really losing when your patients don’t pay? It can be an eye-opening experience to review your profit margin to see the real loss of even a single missed payment and consider what you would need to make up that debt. Now multiple it by the number of patients who haven’t paid, and the impact of this outstanding debt starts to become very clear.
Running any business in the medical field can be challenging. Between your patients, your own billing practices, and insurance companies, there are a lot of moving parts. Some practices are simply too busy to do more than send reminders or the occasional phone call when bills for medical services go unpaid. It’s not easy or efficient or even productive to devote time and resources into finding patients who don’t seem to want to be found, which is why many medical practices end up largely ignoring missing payments. But don’t make the mistake of assuming a few missed payments aren’t bad for business. Even a small amount of bad debt can have a bigger impact that you might guess, and that’s especially true if you’re dealing with a relatively small profit margin.
The good news is that there’s a much better way to manage outstanding payments.
Working with a Professional
The simple truth is that a medical practice facing customers who won’t pay or even respond to its communications has the best chance at recovering money owed by working with a professional. As a medical debt collection firm, Hospital Collection Services here in Reno has the industry experience, training and tools to maximize your return. And we understand how to do so in a manner that’s respectful of patient relationships and entirely professional.
Learn more about what outstanding debt is really costing your medical practice, and what HCS can do to help. Contact our team today.
