the medical center nursery
For many practices, the proportion of over-the-counter (OTC) payments has recently from an average of 15% as high as 75% of the total payments. Systematic OTC collections, including measurable process that emphasizes in advance , collections, often posting double-digit earnings performance. Most importantly, a disciplined and transparent process collections improved patient-provider communication during the early payment collections are also quicker and easier. Improved communications and happier patients, better health and more profitable practice .

OTC payments are copays, charges for the uninsured Wahlpflichtfach or retail products, and outstanding balances. Successful collections of over-the-counter payments, measurable process collections, special IT infrastructure, adequate training of personnel, and discipline.

OTC payment and collection costs strongly depend on the elapsed time between service and payment terms. Collections power dependence on time collections stems from the dynamic nature of the prize money: first, the perception of the value received is high in the head of the patient. Also correlation between value and price is also high. However, OTC payment collections grows difficult step with fading memory-of-service benefit.

Systematic measurement of OTC payment quality is crucial for its performance improved. Vericle OTC payment quality metrics are the percentage of receivables over 120 days and the time for the gathering of the old accounts. While the national average of the first metric hovers around 18%, some practices have as much as 50% of their claims than 120 days. The second metric measures the front-office efficiency and collections are also significant differences between a few hours per month to two hours per week, by the front-office personnel hunting over unpaid bills.

After Vericle experience, the following systematic and measurable process payment collections using electronic medical billing software and provides the discipline, the double billing for improving collections:

1. Publish your payment collections and standard answers to typical objections patient.
2. Clarify patient explanation by your electronic medical billing software:
1. Residual bodies are easily identified.
2. Specific information on the expected payment period (usually on a product or service offerings).
3. Add the phone number in order for the patient questions.


3. Electronic medical billing software on

1. Patient test the conditions and extent. The results of such a test to define patients copay prior to their arrival at the clinic.

2. Front-office notifications generate about forthcoming visit patients with OTC unpaid balance.


4. Train clinicians to patients directly to front-office staff to interim consolidated financial statements.

5. Train your front office to collect over-payments:

1. Hold the front-office staff accountable through the establishment of specific goals and personal collection.

2. Electronic medical billing software to individual employees on collections performance.

3. Honors for collections of personal fulfillment goals and periodically review performance personal collections.

4. Train your staff to electronic medical billing software alerts.

5. Payment collections developing a script and rehearse it with front-office staff to improve front-office staff-patient communication.



Successful OTC payment collections help patient relationship management and to improve the profitability of the practice. You need measurable process collections, special IT infrastructure and adequate personnel training and discipline.

Yuval Lirov, PhD, author of "Practicing Profitability - Network Effect for Revenue Cycle Control in Healthcare Clinic and Chiropractic Office: Scheduling, SOAP provides Care Plans, Coding, Billing, Collections, and Audit Risk (Affinity Billing) and "Mission Critical Systems Management" (Prentice Hall), inventor of patents in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Security, and CEO of Vericle.net - Distributed Billing and Practice Management Technologies. Yuval invites you to register to the next webinar on audit risk at BillingPrecision.com.