I was asked to speak with a colleague of a current MHM client recently.
He was having problems with outstanding invoices both from insurance companies and from self-funding patients.
He, in turn, asked me to speak to the person who “looked after the accounts”. There were four consultants in the practice, all of whom were “looked after” by the same person.
That was on Tuesday, April 9th.
Is there anybody there?
I duly called on Wednesday 10th. And again on the 11th, the 12th, the 15th.
Then I gave up
Each time I heard an answering machine say “this is XXX of the YYY Clinic. I’m not here to take your call. Please email me on xxx@yyy.co.uk. Note emails are only checked periodically. Or leave a message; please note I only work part-time”
So I left a message. I emailed too.
Nobody called me back.
Nor did I receive a return email.
Then I was naughty.
Every single day after Easter from Tuesday, April 23rd to Friday, April 26th I called. I emailed as well. Each occasion I left my name and said I thought I owed for a consultation and wanted to pay so would XXX call me back, please? Each email said the same thing. I wanted to pay.
Nothing. Not a sausage.
Skip forward to Tuesday, April 30th and I called the colleague of the MHM client and explained what had happened. His accounts person had been at work last week so he couldn’t explain why I hadn’t been able to contact his practice for two whole weeks!
For the record, I was not and am not looking to completely bury his accounts person.
That said, and also for the record, as I said to the consultant concerned, you can have the best invoicing, billing or payment process on the planet for all I care.
If you don’t make it easy for the patient to contact you and resolve issues/pay an invoice you will have SIGNIFICANT problems.
pete@medicalhealthcaremanagement.co.uk