Accepting Payments at Your Healthcare Facility

Healthcare providers manage complex businesses. But medical school doesn’t teach how to handle cash flow considerations, ongoing reform, and growing patient consumerism. It’s important to have a plan in place when it comes to accepting payments at your healthcare facility, for both your staff and your patients. Here are a few tips to help you manage those transactions.

Create an Upfront Payment Policy

Putting an upfront payment policy in place can help prevent confusion for both patients and employees when someone arrives at your office. This policy should cover when payments are due, who is responsible for paying medical bills, what happens if a payment is not received, and forms of payment accepted. This is key for a healthcare facility to stay on top of its accounts receivables.

Your bank’s treasury management services can be helpful in streamlining your payment processes and preventing fraud at your healthcare facility. It can also help protect the doctor or owner of the practice.

Inform Patients of Payment Expectations

Patients should know what your facility expects in terms of payment. This conversation might start when they schedule an appointment. Talk to them about whether the office takes their insurance and what forms of payment are accepted. When the patient arrives at their appointment, consider reminding them again of the policy.

It’s also important to have these expectations available on your website where it can also be helpful to offer an online payment option. Getting new customers on board from the start will help prevent future issues when it comes to paying for services.

Check Patients’ Insurance Eligibility in Advance

It’s often wise to have a system in place to verify insurance before an appointment so a patient knows if their insurance has lapsed or if it needs to be updated in your system. This way, they’re using their time efficiently when they arrive. Also, if a patient needs a follow-up appointment, staff can access this insurance information to quote for future treatments.

Find a POS System That Fits Your Facility’s Needs

Finding a POS system that can process payment and update a patient’s record of payment can help free up staff or employees to work on making the practice more productive.

Your bank’s merchant services department could be a good place to start in finding a POS system that works for your needs.

Train Your Front Desk Staff 

The front desk staff provides the first impression of your practice. It’s important to have someone with the right attitude when welcoming your patients and processing payments. They also play a vital role in keeping the schedule moving forward, staying on track, getting patients checked in efficiently, and letting the providers know when patients arrive. This can make all the difference in how patients view your practice and your payment process.

PlainsCapital Bank’s commercial loan officers can provide you with a variety services that your practice may need. Whether this includes real estate loans, treasury management services, personal banking, lines of credit, or investment management, our bankers want to help your healthcare facility run smoothly.