Treating your patients effectively is only half the challenge of a successful medical or dental practice. Running it as an efficient business is the other half. As reimbursement levels fall, it is critical to collect patient payments efficiently, and then quickly put those funds to work for the practice. Here, you can take a cue from Corporate America’s playbook and utilize your bank’s cash management tools.

Start With Collections

The key is to eliminate the manual processes in your collections routine. With the right technologies, staff can be freed to perform other revenue enhancing functions instead of opening envelopes and filling out deposit slips.

– Merchant Services
Patients will enjoy the convenience of paying by credit or debit card, and your practice will eliminate billing costs and float. With a patient’s permission, you may even bill a credit card for deductibles, coinsurance and other balances after the insurance company has sorted out who owes what.

– Remote Deposit
This technology allows staff to digitize checks using a desktop scanner. These digital checks are then sent to the bank using a secure Internet connection, eliminating time consuming trips for manual deposits and improving cash flow.

– Medical Lockbox
Payments mailed by patients and insurance companies are directed to the bank, where they are opened, scanned and processed. Downloadable data files of checks and EOBs are provided for reconcilement. In addition to reducing mail time and check float, lockbox services also help eliminate opportunities for fraud.

Put Money to Work

Collecting the money your practice is owed is certainly important, but putting those funds to work for the practice is just as critical.

– Healthcare Sweep Account
Excess funds from the practice’s operating account (i.e., those not needed for immediate withdrawal) are automatically transferred, or “swept,” into an interest-bearing investment account, generating a revenue stream. As funds are needed, they are automatically swept back into the checking account.

– Zero Balance Accounts
Many practices utilize separate accounts for payroll, petty cash, expenses, etc. This can create a pool of non-earning funds that reduces margins when not managed efficiently. A Zero Balance Account allows independent operating accounts, or sub accounts, to be funded from a single account. As checks clear the sub accounts, the bank automatically moves exactly that amount, thus returning the balance in the account to zero.