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Question: Are there legal requirements for when a practice needs to collect money owed by a patient? If we depend on collecting money via billing statements, are there any best practices we should keep in mind?

South Carolina Subscriber

Answer: Check your state’s laws to see whether there are any requirements about days between when a statement is printed and when the money is due.

However, in terms of financial health, it’s best for your practice to operate on the fact that the patient’s financial responsibility — copay, coinsurance, etc. — is due to the practice at the time of service.

Generally, practices operate on a monthly schedule, but staggering the bill send-out across the month can lessen the chance of inundation, making things a lot easier on the billing staff or anyone answering phones if patients aren’t all trying to pay their bills at the same time.

Giving patients a secure way to pay what they owe online is another great option for making bill pay more accessible.

Rachel Dorrell, MA, MS, CPC-A, CPPM, Development Editor, ÐÇ¿ÕÈë¿Ú