The Doctors at Mid State Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Center have fine tuned their billing system.
In a recent article by NPR reminds us that it is not just the normal retail industry that has a problem with collecting debt from their customers, but also private medical facilities.
The Doctors at Mid State Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Center have fine tuned their billing system. Patients after getting better don’t feel the urgency to make any payments, this becomes a problem as patients fall behind and debts mount. Instead of having to constantly chase clients for money after surgery. Mid State Orthopaedic now approach their clients for payment before surgery, prior to exiting the building just after consultation; by doing this the client is fully aware of his or her expected out-of-pocket expenses. If the client at this point realizes that their out-of-pocket expenses will be more than what they bargained for, then they have a choice – go into a payment plan or go down the road to the local safety-net hospital.
As far debt collection goes Mid State Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Center doesn’t wait the usual six months before handing over to a collection agency, they wait only six to eight weeks. After the introduction of asking for payments up front, in the last two years Mid State Orthopaedic’s outstanding debts have dropped by 25%.
I believe that this can actually be a good thing for the client as well because now we will be more aware of how much the surgeons are going to bill us and we have the opportunity to shop around.
Follow this link to NPR’s full article
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