You probably don’t like talking about finances with your patients, but you may be surprised to learn that they hate the topic even more than you do. When faced with a difficult billing experience, more than 40% of patients will consider switching practices. This means that smoothing these conversations can not only reduce anxiety among your staff and patients, but can also help you retain strong patient relationships and collect more.
Check the following communication tips to ensure you can have productive and successful patient conversations that lead to a higher collections rate and happier patients.
Use Compassion, Not Emotion
It’s important to understand patient emotions when talking about finances, so be compassionate and avoid using personal emotions to express yourself. Phrases like “I understand how difficult insurance is to comprehend” show that you are on the same page about the issues they’re facing, but that you’re there to help them find payment solutions that work.
Focus on the Facts
Let the patient know what your practice’s financial policy is, what their insurance is willing to pay, and what your objectives are in collecting. Encourage your patients to contact their insurance with specific coverage and payment questions and let them know that you’re happy to answer questions after they talk.
Share a Variety of Patient Options
When you’re talking about costs with patients, provide as many options as possible. Whether that means keeping a credit card on file, establishing a payment plan, splitting charges into part cash, part credit card or any other options, list the options with the patient so they are aware of the many avenues they have available to take care of their balances.
Avoid Specifying Amounts When Discussing Payment Plans
When you’re sharing payment options with your patients, let them know the total amount they owe, but then move to open-ended questions so the patient will tell you what they can afford, rather than having you naming numbers and having them say yes or no.
In some cases, the patient may provide a better option than you would have. For instance, if the patient has a $1,000 balance and you ask, “Can you pay $100 a month?” you may be shorting your practice by offering them a lower option. If you leave it open ended, they may instead say, “I can pay $300 a month.” Let them drive the actual numbers.
Create a Script
It can be helpful to have a script at the ready that your practice staff members can memorize to make these conversations easier. If you tend to fumble over the words you’re using, you may be less successful. For instance, you might practice saying, “My system says you have a balance today. Can we go ahead and process that on your card today?” rather than saying “It’s possible you owe us money, how do you want to handle that?”
Pause and Avoid Over-Talking
Once you tell the patient what they owe, it’s a good idea to let them think about how they’ll handle it rather than continuing to talk. Sometimes patients need a few minutes to process this type of information before they can make a decision.
By employing these strategies, you’ll not only forge stronger patient relationships, but you’ll also hopefully boost your collections rate—a win-win by any standard.
Financial conversations with patients are never easy, but you can make them simpler with tips from expert Sherri Lewis, CPB. During her 60-minute online training, Simplify Difficult Conversations W/ Patients, Boost Pay, you’ll discover strategies that will help you ease these conversations and get paid more. Register today!
 | Subscribe to Healthcare Practice Advisor |
| Get actionable advice to help improve your practice’s reimbursement, compliance, and success in this weekly eNewsletter. | |
| |