Patient Balance Collections - Best Practices

Through years of experience in managing account receivables for therapy practices across the country, we have developed this workflow for collecting past due patient balances and sending the patient’s account to collections.

1. Friendly Reminder Call: If a patient has been sent two consecutive statements and has not made a payment, or made payment arrangements, we will attempt to contact the patient via phone. We will verify that they have received the statements and are aware of the balance.
2. Past Due Letter: If we are unable to reach the patient directly, we will leave a voicemail requesting that the patient contacts us and we'll also send a letter stating that payment is past due.
3. Delinquency Notice: After the third statement, if a patient has not provided payment or made payment arrangements, they are sent a letter stating that their account is about to be sent to collections.
4. Collections: After the fourth statement, if a patient has not provided payment or made payment arrangements, their account will be turned over to a collections agency. Patients should not be mailed any further statements once their account has been turned over. Additionally, the account will be flagged and removed from your working A/R. Read more about Patients in Collections.

If the patient pays off their balance or makes other payment arrangements at any point during this workflow, the process starts over. If a patient has a large balance, we encourage that they try to resolve the balance in three monthly payments. If the patient cannot pay the balance in three payments, it is the client’s responsibility to negotiate other payment arrangements.