Computers in
the Medical Office
Chapter 10:
Collections in the Medical Office
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© 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
10-2
Importance of Collections
Patients are paying a greater share of
their medical bills
Not all patients pay on time
Practices must collect monies owed in
a timely manner to maintain cash flow
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10-3
Patient Collection Process
Financial policy spells out how the
practice handles


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Colleting copayments
Collecting prepayment
Overdue accounts
Payment plans
Payment for services not covered by
insurance
 Charity cases
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10-4
Laws Governing Collections
Patient collections regulated by federal
and state laws
Insurance collections considered
business collections
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10-5
Laws Regulating Patient Collections
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act of
1977
Telephone Consumer Protection Act of
1991
General guidelines
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No calls before 8 am or after 9 pm
No threats or profane language
Respect patient privacy
No deception or violence
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10-6
Collection Agencies
Used by some practices to collect on
large overdue accounts
Once account is turned over to
collection agency, the billing specialist
no longer contacts the patient
Usually paid on the basis of what they
collect
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10-7
Payment Plans
Agreement between a patient and the
practice
 Patient makes regular payments over a
specific period of time
 Finance charges may be applied
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10-8
Uncollectible Accounts
If collection attempts are exhausted,
practice may write-off debt
Amount owed is known as
uncollectible debt, or bad debt
Medicare and Medicaid forbid the writeoff of certain debts, unless a set of rigid
steps has been followed
McGraw-Hill Career Education
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10-9
Laws Regulating Insurance Claims
Most states have prompt payment laws
 Mandate a time period within which clean
claims must be paid or financial penalties
may be levied
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10-10
Collection Activities in a
Practice Management Program
Aging report provides information on
status of patient accounts
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Current 0-30
31-60 days overdue
61-90 days overdue
91+ days overdue
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10-11
Collection Activities in a
Practice Management Program
 To create collection letters
1. Patient responsible tickler must be added
to Collection List
2. Collection Letter report must be created
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10-12
Collection Activities in a
Practice Management Program
Collection List
 Tracks activities on overdue accounts
 Ticklers
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10-13
Collection Activities in a
Practice Management Program
Tickler Item dialog box
Tickler Tab
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Office Notes Tab
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10-14
Collection Activities in a
Practice Management Program
 Patient Collection Report


Lists status, responsible party, chart
number, balance owed, and important
dates
Option to print collection letters appears
after Collection Letter Report is closed
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10-15
Collection Activities in a
Practice Management Program
 Collection Letters

If a collection letter has been sent, an
account alert appears in several Medisoft
dialog boxes:
•
•
•
Transaction Entry
Appointment Entry
Quick Ledger
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10-16
Collection Activities in a
Practice Management Program
 Collection Letters

Account alerts include:
•
•
•
IC – in collections
RB – remainder balance
DP – delinquent on payment plan
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10-17
Collection Activities in a
Practice Management Program
 Collection Tracer Report


Used to follow-up on collection letters
that were sent
Lists responsible party, chart number,
balance owed, date letter sent, and
reason account is in collections
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