$21 bill sent to collections sends the wrong message [to patients]

“We attempted to contact you three times,” is what the Office Manager at the clinic said to the mother of two when she called because of the threat of being sent to a collections agency.

Every one of your Patients needs a small deposit of your time, over time, not a collection notice.

It’s not amount that bothers me. Medical offices need to get paid. They serve an important function in our communities.

My problem isn’t with the patient, nor the office manager.

My problem is with the lack of relationship between the medical office and the patient that could have prevented this story from ever being told, nor written about.

This kind of action is taken every day. Probably hundreds of times per day across our country.

You and I both know there is no 'thank you' from the medical practice down the street when you pay the bill before the deadline.

And, we've probably never received a 'thank you' for paying that car payment on-time for the past several months. Nor is there a parade or a bass drum fan-fare from the mortgage company or hospital for paying the bill, on-time, again.

Instead, patients are greeted with silence.

Nothing,

Until, you're a few weeks later when the insurance EOB hasn’t been updated online and the Doctor’s accounting office sends out its routine monthly statements to patients.

The the #$@&! hits the fan, right?

We have all received PAST DUE notices, even from our own Doctor.

They provided a service. It worked and you owe the money.

In today’s impersonal healthcare culture riddled with insurance, bureaucracy, late notices, customer no service hotlines and unhelpful, impractical phone trees the medical office willing to be different is the one that is going to last the longest in our communities.

Why?

Because people know them, like them and trust them.

And isn’t it true that if we know you, like you and trust you, patients respect you enough to pay their bill.

Now, there’s always those and a percentage who will take advantage and that’s to be expected and anticipated. You need to have a process for that.

But if you have to look at a medical chart every time I come to your practice and you’ve been my Physician for the past 15-years and you send a mother a threatening collections letter for $21 there is a relational problem, not necessarily an accounting problem.

When a medical office sends one of these dreadful notices that says something like 'Your urgent attention is required. To prevent collection efforts and additional costs such as attorney fees, please remit payment in full...' where is the relationship between the Patient and the Practice heading?  

What is even crazier is to think we all sign-up for the next appointment before we leave so we can start this [frustrating] process all over again?

Her'e’s one true story from a concierge medical practice in Ohio.  

"Before I opened my [Concierge Medicine] practice I used to dread the calls to collect the unpaid payments in my practice. My staff hated those calls and even worse, knew that by sending out those letters, arguments would ensue. It was always a struggle. It created tension between my staff and my Patients. But today, it is much easier. The secret I discovered was I starting using 'thank you' notes. I know, it sounds silly. I wrote thank you notes to my patients. They were short and sweet and in some cases for the most random things."

I will conclude today with this final thought.  

Every one of your Patients needs a small deposit of your time, over time.

Take the time to care about what’s going on in their personal lives. By caring you are serving your community of patients to! A random act of kindness in a handwritten, short note that’s then sent via USPS mail to them with you writing their name on the envelope will surprise them and you’ll be a [metaphorical] rock star!

This is important, not only because it creates a closer bond with your existing Patients, but it helps them help you. They will soon be telling their friends and family about how special their Doctor is.

Patients are going to tell a story about you when they leave your office.

What story do you want them to tell?

I hope it’s not about a $21 letter that’s soon going to be sent to collections when the patient is simply waiting for the insurance EOB.

I think healthcare offices can do better.

Oh, and PRO TIP! This can work with your staff too!

PS - Food for thought ... If you have a TV in your medical office, please be sure you are using it. At the very least, run some educational slides about your practice or have age appropriate content on. Be mindful, little eyes may be watching too! For example, we visited an UCC in Atlanta recently and noticed the lobby had inappropriate content on for children and yet, dead silent tvs in the exam room. The DMV however, had educational slides about how to make their process easier. So, DMV = 1; Doctor's Office = zero.