Retailers may already be singing that it’s the most wonderful time of the year, but if you’re not careful, the winter holidays may be your most woe-ful time of the year. That’s because in a time where consumers do nothing but spend, spend, spend to cross off items on their holiday lists, incoming medical bills get shoved aside, collecting dust. If you don’t want coal in your stocking, read on to find out how to prepare to fight holiday spending regret.
Be Thankful
Your patients are the lifeblood of your practice, so it’s a great time to be thankful for their presence. (You can be thankful for their presents, too, should any happen to come your way!) One of the hardest things about pursuing debt collection is that you want to maintain positive relations with the people you’re attempting to collect from, but the collection process is fraught with anxiety and intensity. That’s why a process such as first-party debt collection can be such a “gift.” You and your staff are removed from the equation, and a collection agency does all the hard work for you.
Jingle All the Way
Think you may just adopt the spirit of the season and let that debt go? How are you going to feed your reindeer and pay for sleigh repair? You don’t want to work for free, because you can’t run a practice that way. The fees you set are what you should be receiving when work gets completed. It shouldn’t affect your practice if patients happen to over-spend on their holiday shopping. Yet, when bills start to come in, yours may get triaged right out the door, as patients decide to pay other companies before yours. Sometimes, medical professionals just need a little assistance collecting for work rendered. Collection agency elves can work behind the scenes to offer helpful features such as written letters branded with your practice logo and customized collection calls with the option to pay over the phone.
Stay Ahead of the Pack
You may be donning a pilgrim hat, rather than Santa’s cap, right now, but thinking ahead may give you a jollier holiday season. Implement a debt collection strategy now instead of waiting to deal with the fallout after the new year. It’s time for turkey and stuffing, so let’s talk turkey. A diplomatic and respectful collection approach is highly effective in both getting your delinquent A/R collected and preserving your valuable customer relationships. And what could be better during a time when news reports are screaming about Black Friday disasters that certainly have nothing to do with diplomacy and respect (stampedes, overworked staff, and getting crushed in automatic doors for a cheap DVD player, anyone?).
Consider the next few weeks like your advent calendar. Give thanks for the time to get ahead of the pack of bills, then use that time wisely. Review your current collection strategy and see where you can improve it to tackle the Naughty List. Find out how you, too, can earn a spot on the Nice List, while contacting patients with a friendly reminder about the amount they owe on their insurance payments. Your gift from us, a free eBook on choosing a collection company, is ready to be unwrapped, right here:
