Handling patients your physician practice sends to the collections

A recent question I received:

We are interested to know how you handle patients that a medical practice sends to collections. Are they also discharged? If not discharged, do you schedule services if they have an outstanding balance? Do you only send accounts to collections over a certain dollar amount? Do you only discharge over a certain dollar amount?

Sending patients to collections for medical bills just doesn't have the same oomph that it used to. You might want to write off the balance off to bad debt (as you would do if you were sending them to collections), then setting an alert that requires payment of the debt before they are seen again is the most efficient protocol. You're glad to have them back as a patient if they would like to satisfy their debt. Save discharging them for non-compliance, abusing the staff, or getting narcotics from multiple practices. Also, taking time to see if the patient needs a hardship discount to adjust the payment to their means is a much better solution than sending them to collections. Give the patient the discount instead of paying the collection agency and it's a win-win! For more information contact us at Reed Tinsley, CPA

About the Author

Reed Tinsley CPA

This article is written by Reed Tinsley, a Houston, TX-based CPA with over 30 years of experience advising physicians and medical practices across Texas and the United States. Reed holds certifications as a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), Certified Healthcare Business Consultant (CHBC), and Certified Financial Planner (CFP), specializing exclusively in the healthcare sector. He is a published author, nationally recognized speaker, and trusted advisor to physicians on accounting & tax, practice management, and financial planning. Schedule a Free Consultation.