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 Wednesday, October 14th.
I duly called on Wednesday 14th. And again on the 15th, the 16th, the 17th and every single day the following week.
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 from Monday, October 26th to Friday, October 30th 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 Monday, November 2nd 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
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