Tips To Improve Your Dental Billing

Dental billing problems can have you put in the work but collect next to nothing in revenue. Improving your dental billing process can help you collect more revenue and save your practice. Read on to find out how to improve your dental billing process.

Fix Your Billing Statements

Try incorporating design elements into your billing statements. Use design tools to add color and create attention-grabbing boxes to help your patients navigate the bill. Make sure that the most important parts of the bill grab your patient’s attention. Helping your patients understand the bill will lead to fewer back and forth for a smooth transaction process.

 

Create a Robust Financial Policy

You need a robust financial policy to ensure payment for your services. Getting the help of a financial expert is paramount to creating a proper payment policy for your practice. Be sure it isn’t too lenient, or strict or it will hurt your practice. The policy must be flexible and applied to all patients. Once you decide on a financial policy, take care to explain it to your patients. Be sure to explain the financial policy again before any major procedure.

 

Get Payment Before Patients Leave

Explain to your patients that your policy requires them to pay for procedures worth less than $200 upfront. It is also a good idea to collect your insured patient’s part of the payment for major procedures on the day of the procedure at the latest.

 

Practice Gratitude

Patients paying upfront makes everybody’s life easier. You should offer slight pay adjustments for upfront payments or advanced payments to give them a reason to pay early. Be sure to thank patients before they leave your practice to increase the chances of them returning.

 

Opt for Electronic Billing

You can boost your collections rate by making it easier to pay for your practice. Set up a secure electronic payment method on your website. Your payment portal can show your patients what they owe and give them payment options. It will also save you from the labor and resources of handling cash or check payments.

 

Hire a Financial Coordinator

These employees call patients who are a month past their due payment date. You need to hire someone who is not confrontational and who knows how to de-escalate conversations. They must politely let your patients know that the office has not received their payment. Your financial coordinator needs to get a new date on when payment is sent.

One of the jobs they may need to do is helping patients come up with payment solutions that work for both parties. They will need to make another phone call when payment is not given on the new date. You’ll need to hire someone with the right customer service skills to fill this job.

In conclusion, your dental billing problems can bring your practice down. Improving your process by fixing your billing statements, creating a robust financial policy, getting payments, practicing gratitude, opting for electronic billing, and hiring a financial coordinator can help you turn things around.