A sound collection policy is vital to the success of every practice, especially in today's tough economic environment. Here are some tips for improving collections from the Medical Group Management Association :

• Write your practice's payment policy so it is understood and communicated accurately for staff and patients.
• Invoices should clearly show the amount due and when payment is expected. The faster you mail invoices, the sooner you'll be paid.
• Contact late payers every 10 to14 days to remind them of your payment terms.
• Have "address service requested" printed on your outgoing envelopes.  The new address information will be provided by the post office when a patient moves without providing you a forwarding address.
• For more difficult collections situations, train your staff to be firm but courteous.  You want to maintain a good relationship with your patient even when you expect to be paid in a timely manner. 
• Some accounts will forever remain uncollected; learn to identify them early so you don't waste time and money pursing them.

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