When creating a collection policy, your goal is to create a published document that outlines the company’s collection procedures. It will include a variety of topics from setting up a patient record to processing a payment. Keep in mind, the purpose of the policy is to help establish the collection culture of your organization and define who will complete which tasks throughout the process.
To begin, pull out your current documents. These notes will help you outline what is commonly known as your “workflow.” Your workflow will detail what happens when you receive an order and follows a patient’s journey until their bill is paid. Our patient invoice flow chart will give you some ideas on what to include.
Next – keep it current! Update whenever you add a new approval step, change who receives the order, etc. You will also need a way to alert your staff when a new version is available. You might want to post an announcement on a wall, send it out in an email or link it to your company’s SharePoint or Intranet.
People learn in different ways, so you will have to use written instructions as well as diagrams in the policy. The science behind visualization and adult learning is vast. If you’re into that sort of thing, check out this study done by Springer’s Journal on Instructional Science.
Don’t fear. There is quite a bit written on creating a policy. You can download our Collection Policy Template to get started. It includes a section for each of the questions we have outlined below. Your answers should be clear and concise, and written in a tone and with the terminology your team can understand.
Don’t worry, you are not alone. Many organizations we work with don’t have a collection policy. Allegiance Group is here to help. Here are a couple of resources we suggest you download:
First, here’s a patient invoice flow chart which outlines the best practices workflow. It is based on our 14 years of experience helping our clients achieve their collection goals. It’s simple and highlights those questions that we mentioned earlier in a step-by-step process that should trace your patient’s journey.
Whether you’re a workflow expert or not, you’ll find that this flow chart can lead you and your team through a healthy discussion while creating your collections policy. Just make the adjustments in the workflow to match the culture of your company.
Once you’ve outlined how it ‘should’ work for various scenarios, you’re ready to start writing the collection policy document.
Our second resource, the Allegiance Group’s sample collection policy, should help you get a jump start on documenting your policy.
When writing a collection policy, your goal is to create a published document that provides guidelines for your collection procedures. Once you have created your policy, we suggest you seek assistance from your accountant or financial adviser. They are familiar with your business and can help identify unique areas that you may have overlooked. If you have questions, we’d like to help and have the experience that you can be confident in. All you have to do is reach out.
Allegiance Group provides turn-key solutions to automate the collection of outstanding balances for healthcare providers. Click here or email us at info@allegiance-group.com if you need advice. We are glad to help.
Quality DME was writing off a lot of patient A/R because they did not have complete Patient Pay Billing and Collection system. Their staff was responsible for printing and mailing statements but did not have time to make collection calls. So, they used the outside collection company. Without an integration with their collection company, it was challenging to track the payments the collection company received.
Quality DME Boosts Collections through Integration
CareLinc improved intake process significantly reduces Patient Pay A/R
Upstate HomeCare’s Automation or Patient A/T Yields 80%
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Keene Medical Products
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