The Payments Automation Settings section allows you to configure automatic processes for managing patient payments. This section is designed to streamline payment follow-ups and ensure timely and efficient communication with patients regarding their outstanding balances.
Here’s an in-depth look at what this section offers:
Charge Payment Processing Fee from Practice
Overview: This setting determines whether the practice absorbs the payment processing fees.
Implication: When enabled, the practice covers any fees associated with processing patient payments rather than passing these fees onto the patient. This can improve patient satisfaction but will increase costs for the practice.
Automatically Send Patients Follow-up
Overview: This option allows you to automatically send follow-up communications to patients with outstanding balances.
Benefit: Ensures that patients receive consistent reminders about their payments without manual intervention, improving the likelihood of timely payments.
Automatically Add Patients to the Payments Follow-up Sequence
Criteria-Based Addition: Patients who meet the specified criteria are automatically added to the follow-up sequence. This automation saves time and ensures that no patient with an outstanding balance is overlooked.
Range of Balances for Automation
Min Balance: Set the minimum balance threshold (e.g., $5) that qualifies for automated follow-up.
Max Balance: Set the maximum balance threshold (e.g., $1000) for automated follow-up.
Purpose: This range ensures that only balances within a specified amount are included in the automation, preventing follow-ups for negligible amounts and extremely high balances that may require different handling.
Last Interaction Consideration
Description: Automation considers the last interaction with the patient or their guarantor, including any recent payments or services provided.
Best Practice: Avoids initiating follow-ups for very old balances without review. This prevents potential issues with contacting patients about outdated balances that may no longer be relevant.
Exclusion of Patients with Pending Insurance Claims
Overview: Patients with pending insurance claims are excluded from automated follow-ups.
Reason: It is best to wait until all insurance claims are resolved before sending payment requests to avoid confusion and potential disputes over balances.
Age-Based Automation
Min Age: Set the minimum age (e.g., 1 year) for patients eligible for automated follow-ups.
Max Age: Set the maximum age (e.g., 100 years) for patients eligible for automated follow-ups.
Usage: This is useful for excluding older patients who may prefer not to receive payment requests via text or email. It ensures that communication methods are appropriate for different age groups.
Exclusion of Specific Account Types
Account Types: Choose which account types should be excluded from automated follow-ups.
Purpose: Allows for the customization of automation rules to avoid follow-ups for certain types of accounts that may require special handling.
Exclusion Based on Patient Tags
Tag-Based Exclusion: Patients with specific tags can be excluded from the automation.
Implementation: This feature allows you to tag patients with certain characteristics or conditions and exclude them from automated follow-ups, ensuring sensitive cases are handled manually.