Patient Collection Control Point
The patient collection control point focuses on the collection of self-pay balances. These balances usually consist of deductibles, co-pays, and non-covered charges. Non-covered charges may include services not covered under a particular contract or the difference between the provider's gross charge and the amount payable under the patient's policy. These costs, also known as the patient's share of the cost, have continued to grow as a percentage
of total reimbursement, resulting in this control point becoming more critical to the provider.
An effective patient collections process requires a proactive approach with emphasis on the front-end control points (registration and in-house) combined with traditional dunning techniques and direct collection efforts on the back-end. There are five keys to this process:
|
|
