QUESTION:
We are a small medical office. Do we have to go through a collection agency for our collection accounts or can we use staff and collect our problem accounts through our office. In the past we have contracted with agencies with very poor results. We do not have a lot we have to send to collections and we are sometimes not very timely in turning them. We give our patients a lot of grace when it comes to paying their accounts. Our currect contract is almost up and we need to either do research to find another agency or do research to begin collecting our own accounts.
ANSWER:
You can use staff to try and collect from your patients and if you do that you are not liable under the FDCPA, but you should be aware of it. The longer you wait before trying to collect from someone the lower your chances of collecting, so I would suggest keeping on top of the accounts as soon as they become past due, especially now with the state of the economy. You can still use an agency to collect on accounts you don’t think you can collect, but give them the accounts sooner than later to increase your chances of getting paid.
If you have a credit policy, that will help you tremendously and make this all a lot easier. I do have a couple of books on this subject if you want to check them out, they are “Become the Squeaky Wheel, a credit & collections guide for everyone” and “The Ultimate Credit & Collections Handbook” those books can help you with setting up a credit policy or give you ideas and steps you or your staff can use to set up procedures to deal with past due patients.
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