Effective Financial Policies and Procedures

Effective Financial Policies and Procedures

Effective Financial Policies and Procedures
An effective financial policy in a medical office should instill confidence in both the people visiting as patients and the staff working there about their responsibilities in the billing process. The financial policy should outline how a patient and the office should act in a variety of different situation. For example a financial policy would cover issues like the collection of copayments and deductibles, how to pay for unpaid balances on your account and fee if your checks are returned (Valerius, 2008).
Medical office procedures are there to support the financial policies of the office in a couple of different ways. Having a financial policy is great but the medical office producers ensure that those policies reach the patients in a consistent manner. Some office mail broachers entailing their policies while other handout pamphlets or printout to patient during the registration process before their first appointment. These sorts of polices ensure that the patient is informed in an upfront way what is and is not their responsibility as well as what the clinics responsibilities are as well.
When the medical office policy is at odds with the financial policy or is ineffective as a whole the billing process can become problematic. Notifying patients what is expected of them before services are rendered since it would seem unprofessional and underhanded if they were given them after services were rendered allows them to come to the appointment prepared with any necessary funds to cover their visit. If they are not informed ahead of time then they will be unprepared and collecting that payment down the line becomes harder.
Proper training is the most successful way to ensure that your staff is making sure that the financial policies and medical procedures that support those policies are being used effectively. Training at the time of hiring a person while necessary is not enough. Having short seminars...

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