Being a doctor is a rewarding vocation and not just a job but no one can be expected to work for nothing. Ensuring you are properly remunerated for your expertise, services and time is essential if you want your practice to stay afloat.
But while most practices try to bill as soon as the patient has been seen, Healthcode regularly sees bills submitted months after the service date. This presents problems for the recipient and is storing up serious problems for the practice too.
Here are five reasons why timing is everything when it comes to submitting invoices:
- Improve cash flow – it sounds obvious but if an insured or self-funded patient hasn’t received an invoice they can’t pay you. This hinders your cashflow which makes it impossible to meet financial commitments and could drive you out of business.
- Meet private medical insurer (PMI) rules – some insurers stipulate that invoices must not be more than six months old (nor will they accept future-dated invoices sent before the patient has been seen). If you don’t comply there is a risk that you will have to write-off the invoice.
- Resolve disputes and queries quickly – if the invoice recipient has a concern, it’s much easier to resolve it soon after the treatment has taken place. After several months, there is a risk you won’t remember all the details.
- Present a professional image – a self-funded patient may have set aside the money but equally, they may have tried to move on and could be shocked to receive an invoice out of the blue. Either way, a late invoice is likely to annoy them and reflect badly on your practice.
- Ensure your practice is efficient – invoicing is often seen as secondary to chargeable work and a bit of a chore but this is counterproductive. By submitting invoices regularly the task will be more manageable and you can avoid admin bottlenecks. Find out how easy it is to submit bills online.