Written by When you are running a hospital, accounts receivable are super important for your business success. But when you’ve got too many unpaid bills, it can mess up your cash flow and cause money troubles. That’s why you need to really understand hospital accounts receivable and work hard to cut down those unpaid invoices!
The first thing that you must know is what hospital accounts receivable (AR) is.
What is hospital AR?
Hospital accounts receivable is the money your patients and their insurance companies still owe your hospital. You can always consider those ARs as your pending invoices. Ideally, customers and their insurance companies need to pay you back within 30 to 40 days—it’s the rule, and it helps keep your hospital running smoothly!
Fortunately, you can always ensure perfect hospital accounts receivable services by following the effective strategies below.
Strategies to drastically reduce your hospital accounts receivable:
1) Follow up on aged invoices:
You should always prioritize bills that have not been paid for over 90 days. Make sure you diligently follow up to receive timely payments. You can start this process by sending timely reminders so that your patients won’t forget about their due dates. Always start your follow-up process with a friendly phone call or email. If you are still not being paid after several follow-ups, you should opt for a collection agency as the last resort.
2) Define your payment terms clearly:
You can reduce accounts receivable by setting clear payment rules from the start. Make sure you always inform your patients about their payment due dates and explain how much they need to pay you. Always make your payment policies easy to understand. You can also give your patients the option to make their payments in installments.
3) Use an electronic invoicing process:
You can make things easier by sending electronic invoices to your patients. You can drastically reduce your time and mistakes in paper billing by leveraging an advanced EHR system. Furthermore, you can efficiently track your delinquent payments and send automatic reminders to patients with your electronic health record system. EHR always allows you to make your AR process faster and more seamless.
4) Offer multiple payment options:
You should offer your patients different ways to pay their bills. There are lots of payment options like credit cards, online portals, bank transfers, and automatic deductions. These options make it easier for patients to pay. Plus, it helps you spend less time chasing after patients who have not paid yet.
5) Educate your staff members:
You need to make sure the staff handling accounts receivable gets good training. They should know how to explain the payment rules to the patients. They also need to keep track of unpaid bills and contact patients who haven’t paid yet. Plus, they should be good at using electronic invoicing or billing software to make everything run smoothly.
Outsourcing hospital accounts receivable services can be a game-changer for your hospital’s financial health. You can always ensure better cash flow, reduce unpaid invoices, and focus more on patient care rather than financial worries by leveraging hospital accounts receivable outsourcing. Implementing strategies like clear payment terms, electronic invoicing, and diligent follow-ups can streamline your AR process, but expert outsourcing services take it a step further by bringing in precision and expertise. When your hospital AR is under control, your operations thrive seamlessly. Are you ready to simplify your AR challenges? Let hospital accounts receivable outsourcing be your key to financial peace of mind and business success!
