With all of the responsibilities and demands that office staff face on a daily basis (e.g., unhappy patients to cope with, incessant calls to answer, and insurers to battle), keeping staff motivated can often prove a daunting challenge.

I am not a believer in sending patients multiple account statements - in fact, I believe a patient should only receive one account statement from a physician practice. After that, send out the enclosed 10 day collection letter instead of another statement(s). If patients do not give you the courtesy of a follow up phone call regarding their account, I doubt they are going to pay (send them to outside collection). The 10 day collections saves time and money if used consistently.

The following are recent posts to my healthcare blog; stop by for a visit: http://rtacpa.blogs.com/

·         Listen to your patients

·         NPPES - Keeping It Safe and Keeping It Updated

·         New tax law - Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

·         First-time med school applicants down

·         Automated telephone attendants

·         Physician search firms can be costly, use them wisely

·         Define your practice's mission