Читать книгу Managing Finances: Guidelines for Practice Success - American Dental Association - Страница 14

Collecting payment is literally the bottom line of your practice. Developing and implementing a workable financial system is critical to ensuring that patients pay their bills promptly. While this is important for dentists at all stages of their careers, it’s especially important for new dentists who may be personally managing the financial aspects of the business rather than delegating that function to someone outside of the practice, such as an accountant.

Developing and implementing a workable financial system is critical to ensuring that patients pay their bills promptly.

A workable financial system should include a written financial policy, information about the financial payment options available in the practice, details on financial arrangements established in advance of treatment, and a protocol that describes the time and place to have private consultation with patients to discuss private clinical and financial matters.

Having a formal financial program and policy can be a win-win scenario for your practice and for your patients. This information can make it easier for patients to finance and receive the treatment they want and need, and you’ll be able to perform the clinical work that you enjoy with fewer headaches relating to managing accounts with open balances.

Remember to discuss your financial policy in full with each patient. It’s also helpful to have patients of record review and sign your current financial policy on a regular basis, since it’s likely that they don’t recall every form they saw or signed when they first came in for treatment. Also, every patient should sign a treatment form, with informed consent or informed refusal where applicable. More information about informed consent/refusal is available in the “Managing Patients” module of the ADA’s Guidelines for Practice Success; please see the “Informed Consent/Refusal” article in the Policies section of that module.

Make sure your financial policy clearly expresses what payment is due at the time of service, even for cases involving routine care. You’ll also want protocols to validate patients’ eligibility, coverage and remaining benefits for the plan year for those patients who qualify for some level of coverage or reimbursement through a third-party dental benefit plan. If applicable, your policy should clearly state that any remaining deductibles and estimated copayments are payable at the time service is provided.

Make sure your financial policy clearly expresses what payment is due at the time of service, even for cases involving routine care.

Financial responsibility for healthcare costs, such as dental treatment provided to children whose parents are divorced is typically outlined in the divorce decree. Since it’s not uncommon for parents to share responsibility for taking children to these types of appointments, it’s a good idea to have the parent who is not financially responsible for any out-of-pocket dental costs to agree, in writing, that he or she will pay for care if the former spouse fails to cover those expenses.

The patient should know the full cost of treatment, including the amount he/she is responsible for after any estimated payment by their dental benefits plan. He/she should also be aware of the practice’s financial policies. Once you’ve confirmed that the patient understands, remind them when payment is due at the time of service and advise them of the amount that will be due on the first date of treatment.

The patient should know the full cost of treatment, including the amount he/she is responsible for after any estimated payment by their dental benefits plan.

Having a system in place and following procedures consistently will reduce the amount of staff time spent on collections. This will help avoid uncomfortable, unpleasant, and sometimes even contentious, back-and-forth conversations with patients who might question whether your fee is “really worth” the work that you’re doing. Surprisingly, this happens more than you might think, even with patients who seem to share your philosophy about maintaining good oral health.

There are many options for developing a financial policy. Some practices develop their own, others work with a financial or business advisor to develop one, and others ask colleagues for suggestions and other resources. Regardless of your approach, it’s advisable to have your lawyer review your policy to ensure that it’s in compliance with any applicable federal and state laws and regulations.