Doctors Need the Right Professional Debt Collectors

Running a business requires steady cash flow, and a doctor’s office is no exception. Money can be an uncomfortable topic when people’s health is involved, but doctors have significant expenses that need to be paid, like anybody else’s.

Prodding patients for payments can be awkward and difficult, and it takes time and focus away from where a doctor’s attention should be, which is on their patients. How can doctors reconcile this tricky situation?

They need debt collectors, and not just any debt collectors, but ones that prioritize respect and dignity at all times. 

Let’s check out a few key reasons why doctors need the right professional debt collectors.

Dignity for All

A doctor’s calling involves pledging to work towards public health at all times. Many physicians swear on some version of the Hippocratic Oath, a promise about the ideals of medicine and an expression of the desire to make people feel better.

Doctors are acutely aware of their role in society and the obligation they have towards people. In the US, public health involves financial transactions, but that doesn’t mean dignity is thrown out the window. 

The leading medical debt collection agency adopts a PHD philosophy, which stands for Preserving Human Dignity. More, their debt recovery rate doubles the national average. There’s no conflict between collecting the money outlined in the arrangement both parties agreed to and treating people with respect and kindness. 

Medical collections involve tact and diplomacy, no matter the size of your practice.

No Underhanded Tactics

Some debt collectors use aggressive methods to recoup debts that aren’t becoming of medical practitioners or, really, anybody. Medical debt collectors avoid anything like this because it’s unprofessional and can put a bad taste in patients’ mouths. 

Keep your account full and your reputation intact by using a debt collector that abstains from any collection methods that will tarnish your reputation and alienate your patients. 

HIPAA-Compliant Practices

Medical debt collection involves a set of sensitivities that aren’t found in other industries. People’s right to privacy needs to be protected, and healthcare workers are privy to personal details that must remain confidential. 

Doctors have an ethical and legal obligation to ensure people’s rights aren’t violated. The debt collectors you hire need to have 100% HIPAA-compliant practices. Otherwise, they can jeopardize your patient’s rights and even your practice. 

Violating HIPAA can be an actionable offence that leads to financial penalties and reputational damage that can be hard to undo. The best debt collectors provide user-friendly status updates on the collection 24/7. You can stay in the know and place new accounts for collection, download reports, and more. 

Most collections are handled within three months, but you can easily keep tabs along the way.

Running a medical practice is difficult enough without worrying about the business side of things. Medicine is a complicated subject. Patients may have serious problems and making them feel better is challenging enough. Doctors shouldn’t have to worry about unpaid bills — outsourcing this task to an experienced agency with specialized skills makes a lot of sense.