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• Medical Billing News

PATIENTS KEEP TELLING ME THEY’VE PAID MY BILL TO THE HOSPITAL BY CARD?

 

This specific issue comes up frequently when MHM is asked to review the outstanding accounts of a private consultant surgeon.

 

There are two reasons normally why the patient believes the hospital have taken payment for the consultant:

 

1. When the patient is registering at the hospital, he/she is frequently unaware or never even told the card details are for hospital fees only. The hospital is not responsible for collecting the consultant’s fee. Payment is required from the patient directly to the consultant.

 

To overcome this, MHM recommends the client’s invoice bears the message “payment of this invoice is not covered by any debit / credit card details taken by the hospital” To further help prevent the issue arising, MHM recommends that when the patient makes the booking for the initial consultation, he/she is told an invoice will be sent to them after the consultation.

 

Over the last year, twice MHM has amended the surgeon’s invoice to include the above sentence. In both cases, the number of outstanding self-funder invoices reduced.

 

2. the second reason is that the patient had a “package” with the hospital. Obviously the package covered the patient’s stay, surgery, anaesthetist and, most likely, follow up consultations. But the package would probably NOT have covered the initial consultation. This happens more often than is thought!

 

To resolve this issue MHM contacts the patient and request they check what was and what was not covered in the package. Payment of the surgeon’s initial consultation fee soon follows as the patient agrees the initial consultation fee is not covered. BUT again when the consultant’s secretary confirms all items with the patient, the patient should have been advised the initial consultation was not covered.

 

Actually, on this specific point why has the patient been advised the invoice for the initial consultation is still outstanding if appropriate.

www.medicalhealthcaremanagement.co.uk

 

 

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• Tags
• consultant invoices
• consultant surgeon
• initial consultation
• insurance companies
• medical secretary
• outpatient consultations
• self funders