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HOW TO HAVE BETTER
COLLECTIONS IN THE DENTAL
PRACTICE
®
By CDA Practice Support
Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association
include any important financial updates
for patients scheduled that day.
3. SEND STATEMENTS
CONSISTENTLY.
The goal for most practice owners is to
send out as few billing statements as
possible. This goal correlates with
setting strong payment policies and
adhering to those rules. However, when
a patient is unable to pay at the time of
service, despite the practice's efforts to
communicate the payment policies, the
practice should be prepared with an
alternative method.
When the practice has extended credit
and patients carry a balance, statements
should be sent consistently in order to
maintain financial arrangements and
regular payments. Keep balances top of
mind. It's very easy for patients to
"forget." Stay on top of balances and
make regular follow-up calls for those
balances that begin to lag.
4. KNOW THE NUMBERS.
But before it gets to this point, there are
steps dental practices can take to
improve their collections process. Here
are five tips for better collections. Run reports
regularly and check
for billing and claims
errors. If the staff
does not know the
capacity of the
practice's software
system, training
should be set up.
1. NO SURPRISES. 5. REVIEW.
Patients should be informed and have a
clear understanding of the practice's
financial policies from the beginning of
the relationship with the office. At the
onset of treatment, the practice should
obtain a signed financial agreement (in
addition to a signed informed consent
form) that states what the patient's
responsibilities are and when payment is
expected. The practice should make
sure to follow through as well. Practice financial
protocols should be
reviewed annually.
Dentists should
consider scheduling
an annual staff
meeting to review
the practice owner's
expectations and
systems and identify
bad habits. Retrain
and role play if
necessary to improve
communication and
confidence when
discussing finances
with patients.
2. UTILIZE A TEAM APPROACH.
Co-payments should be confirmed
when appointment confirmation calls
are made. The morning huddle should
CDA recommends that dentists conduct
research and understand the following
laws pertaining to dentists who engage
in debt collection activities on their own
behalf:
• Federal Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act
• California Robbins-Rosenthal Fair
Debt Collection Practices Act
• Civil Code Section 1788-1788.3
• Civil Code Section 1788.10-1788.18
• Civil Code Section 1788.20-1788.22
• Civil Code Section 1788.30-1788.33 䡲
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