How to Collect More Money

A popular EMR that is unable to report patient co-pay, co-insurance, and deductibles to its front desk users is currently advising practice owners to recognize the importance of collecting patient payments at the front desk. They’ve stated: “…you can pretty much kiss goodbye any money you don’t collect while your patients are in your office. And with the rise in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), patient payments are making up an even bigger piece of most clinics’ revenue pie.”

Actually, this is good advice. Patient payments (co-pay, co-insurance, and deductibles) typically represent about 9% of your revenue.  Said differently, patient payments often represent your profit for the encounter.

When your EMR is not integrated with your billing module, your patients’ co-pay, co-insurance, and deductible do not automatically transfer to the front desk. Therefore, you can’t collect that 9% because your front desk doesn’t know how much your patients owe.

With Systems 4PT, scheduling, documentation, and billing are all integrated within one database.  All charges transferred to the patient are clearly visible at the front desk. With our EMR, the problem of patient payments is solved.

If you’re not using Systems 4PT, ask your front desk staff if they can see the co-pay, co-insurance, and deductibles due from patients.  If their answer is “No,” you should install an integrated EMR as soon as possible – and start collecting more money.