How Do I Know If My Medical Accounts Are Collecting Dust?
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by: Mallory Megan
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Word Count: 312
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 Time: 11:16 AM
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Do you know how many patients your medical collection agency collected from last year? If you don't, how can you evaluate their effectiveness or your return? How could you possibly be aware?
Many patient balances forwarded to a medical collection agency are often considered "lost causes," there would be little point in using such services if that were always the case. Logic dictates this much. Some of the reasons are as follows: Some patients simply do not respond to practice statements or internal collection letters. They will, however, respond when a collection agency states it will report their failure to pay to credit bureaus. Collection agencies have a number of resources on their hands. If reporting a debt to a credit bureau does not work, there are attorneys on hand that can assist you with problem consumers who refuse to pay.
Given that most medical practices acknowledge the need for collection agency services, they should evaluate and manage this collection method just like any other. Practices should have a full understanding of the terms of the agreement with their collection agency and the results of such arrangements; they must also understand how their own internal processes affect the agency's success. And internal processes do have an enormous effect on the amount of money that you can collect.
Here are six questions you should ask when evaluating your current collection agency.
What is the total dollar value of accounts placed with the collection agency last year?
What is the protocol for turning accounts to collection?
What is the average age of transferred accounts?
What percentage of transferred accounts had balances less than $50?
How much did the agency collect last year?
What fees does the collection agency charge?
What reports does the agency provide?
About the Author
Mallory McGuinness is employed by a collections agency that works with a debt collection lawyer. Also, she does stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collections agencies.
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