Your software is an amazing tool that directly contributes to your patient’s experience. My number one goal when I visit an office is to leave the staff energized and comfortable with their software. I’m not just a “trainer”; I’m a “Technology Advisor.” I educate offices on all options and then help them find a solution to best meet the needs of their practice. This is what we at Eaglesoft like to call “Power Personalized.”
Statements are one area I always revisit – at every training. Whether your office is brand new or you’ve been using Eaglesoft for years, it’s important to review your statement processes and preferences to ensure your office is doing things in the most effective, efficient manner. Here are a few tips I have picked up over the years:
- Review your Statement Preferences and ensure the Statement Wizard is set up with the correct defaults and messages. This will save you time with each batch or individual statement processed.
- Process more frequent, smaller statement batches. Consider processing your statement batches weekly instead of monthly. Fewer statements to sort through means more time for patient interaction and other important tasks. Wouldn’t it be nice to distribute balance inquiry phone calls and account payments evenly throughout the month?
- Send statements electronically. Electronic statements are the most cost-effective and convenient way to go. eStatements give you complete control, allowing you to review your statements, add personal notes and even have the addresses verified. Statements are submitted electronically to a clearinghouse where they are then printed, stuffed and mailed to your patients. eStatements reduce your supply and processing costs and on average save your office $1.63 per statement!
- Consider using a patient communication tool like RevenueWell to give patients online account access and online bill pay.
- Add a note to every account as to why there is a balance (i.e., insurance maxed out, balance due is the responsibility of the patient). This will greatly reduce balance inquiry phone calls. Enter these notes immediately after posting a final payment and consider creating Auto Notes for commonly used narratives.
- Know the character limitations for messages and notes. FAQ 8838 is a great resource for this information.
I hope this post has encouraged you to evaluate your procedures for sending statements. Of course, we all wish we didn’t have to send any statements at all! Some offices send more statements than others but in any case, I hope you were able to pick up a helpful hint or two. If you would like to review detailed, step-by-step instructions for processing statements, please see FAQ 14543 and as always, feel free to call one of our fantastic support specialists if you need additional assistance at 800.475.5036.
