Question: If there is a need for patient support who does that patient contact when and if they need assistance with their bill?
Answer: The patient calls our toll free number, which is always answered by an account representative. Questions are answered courteously, and all efforts are made to expedite a settlement. Patient support is never compromised.
Voice mail is never used during normal business hours. We make every effort to have a call picked up within three rings*
We answer with “Medical office” so patients, physician, insurers, or other third-parties can communicate yet keeping the initial response neutral. At present we support English and Spanish, with some Chinese.
Normally we can determine the patient with the information they provide, like doctor’s name and the patient’s data of birth. With that determined we prefer to have the patient switched to the account representative. In other words, only one transfer and the patient is speaking to the right person to solve their billing issue.
Once we determine it isn’t a patient we are speaking to Preferred Health Resources account managers and/or follow-up personnel will deal with the doctor’s office, insurance companies, or other departments so that any individual or organization receives efficient and courteous service through incoming telephone calls, personal contact or general correspondence regarding the billing of services performed.
Our personnel will do account research and reconciliation, account analysis, credit balances, and verification of information for follow-up accounts. We will work with patients in creating reasonable budget plans to resolve unpaid balances. Update accounts with new or corrected information and submit itemized statements or claims when appropriate.
As part of our system the representative or follow-up personnel enter complete and appropriate comments on each account worked.
* During non-business hours there is voice mail rollover and messages are returned the next business day.