How To Improve Your Past Due Accounts Receivable

Improving your past due accounts receivable can be difficult without the proper systems in place. It can be easy for your team to focus more on just sending out the billing statements without really thinking about the past due accounts. If not kept in check, your past due accounts can escalate. Below are 4 things to consider:

• The easiest and most simple way to nip past due accounts receivable in the bud is to include a due date on your statements when they’re sent out. Bills with due dates are often paid before those without due dates.
• Patients are often confused about the status of insurance claims when it comes to their bills. You may want to add a note to the statement that lets your patient know that the insurance has already paid their portion of the claim and the remainder is the patient’s responsibility.
• If a patient is consistently past due, sending out a billing statement won’t be enough. You’ll also want to have your staff call the patient before sending out another statement. This will give your team a good opportunity to set up a payment plan or get the payment over the phone.
• You need to have a protocol in place for delinquent accounts. If you’ve already sent out 3-4 billing statements and haven’t received any type of response, you need to have a system in place. This may include sending out a pre-collection letter, letting the patient know that your next course of action will be sending them to collections.

Sending out billing statements will not guarantee payment from your patients. It’s important for you and your team to take further steps to stay on top of past due accounts.

For help keeping on top of your statements and improving past due accounts receivable, please contact Dental Bookkeeping today! We can help your office become more successful and profitable.

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