The Reality of a No-Show Patient
This is a topic that comes up frequently when I meet Private Consultant Surgeons. Indeed, the point was touched upon last year in a blog regarding asking self-funding patients to pay in advance....
Ask for the money. Otherwise why are you in business?
Why are you in business? Many times, consultant surgeons have approached MHM because they, as consultant surgeons, don’t like asking patients for the money. And from a certain point of view, this is...
Seeing a patient within 10 days of a surgical episode.
I'm used to insurance companies declining to pay a consultation charge for an Orthopaedic Surgeon within 10 days of surgery. The reality is that this does not impact only on Orthopods. I've seen it...
Stay Up To Date With What You Can Charge For
Take, for example, a patient who requires an injection which may be performed by a private orthopaedic surgeon at an outpatient consultation. Thus you raise an invoice for, as an example,...
Don’t Ever Have A “Holding” Pile
MHM recently completed a project for a hospital. The project was to investigate why the hospital was not getting paid. One insurance company was proving to be particularly troublesome. An analysis...
Have your phone answered quickly and politely
One of my major bugbears with medical practice is the ability to answer the phone. Sounds simple. It is! Yet many practices do not answer the phone. Instead, the call goes to an answering machine...
A Guarantee is different from Pre-Authorisation
Consider when the patient has contacted his/her insurance company and been issued with a pre-authorisation number. This does not mean, the insurance company will accept your charge. This happened to...
Hospital Fees Are Different to Your Fees
Ever thought what is the most often quoted reason for non-payment by a self funding patient? The same reason is quoted over and over again. It is not ‘I haven’t got the money” nor is it “I didn’t...
Pay attention when you are raising invoices.
Another day arrives. Its time to Thursday's clinics. Pay attention This is a good example of not paying sufficient attention to the clinic list. It almost cost the consultant £205. The patient was...
The Insurance Company Took My Money Back!
Some insurance companies decline to accept invoices that are sent more than six months after the consultation or surgical episode. Fair enough, they should have been invoiced. BUT… A statement was...
Pre-authorisation number – a life of their own
Have you ever considered how long a pre-authorisation reference is live? Or how many didn’t realise some private medical insurance companies deem pre-auths do have a life span? For example: I was...
Back Up Your Data Before You Have An Accident
It’s amazing how many people don’t back their IT systems up. When they have an accident, they have a serious accident. One guy kept all his correspondence and notes on his laptop and only on his...