COVID-19 has brought about a global recession. Considering how poorly the world was prepared for the pandemic itself, its safe to say that most people were not prepared for the financial crisis, either. For medical practices this means expenses go up, and revenue goes down as patients struggle to pay. In the absence of an upfront payment policy, this means practices will spend a lot of time following up with patients, chasing payments.

However, patients are more than just statistics. Building trust within patient-provider relationships can take a great deal of time and effort, and its not often worth jeopardizing that relationship over a single late payment. A great deal of care needs to be taken when approaching these situations. The needs of the practice are important, but so is having some empathy for the patient and their circumstances. A difficult balancing act, to be sure.

It can be tempting to go easy on patients with regards to payment when the aforementioned relationship has been established. But, its important to remember that at the end of the day a patient is a client, and their payments are what keep the practice open. Talking to patients about money can be difficult, especially when you’ve established a strong connection, but it is necessary for the practice to keep doors open and keep saving lives.

Thinking about it in more practical terms can help. You provide patients a service built on a lifetime of study and experience, one you deserve to be paid for. The practice also needs to generate a profit to remain open. It can be difficult to take such a point of view in these trying times and it’s never easy to bring up a topic as sensitive as money. Here are 3 ways you can do so:

1. Simple and straightforward communication

The first thing to do when a patient is late on their payments is to send them an email. These emails must be written carefully to ensure they get the point across, while being empathetic and friendly. It’s also important to check email deliverability to ensure your messages reach the intended recipients. Make sure you are sending personal emails checking up on patients’ health as well, so that they don’t always see your emails when you are asking for money.

The goal is to make the process of paying as simple as possible. One of the ways to do this is including a credit card payment form within the email template used for these emails. Patients will be encouraged to pay faster when they can do so in just a few clicks. There are other forms of communication as well when email isn’t getting the response you want, such as SMS.

2. Call Directly

When email and SMS fail the next step is to call them directly. Calls can be difficult to do properly, though having a script prepared beforehand can make them easier. Be empathetic, allow the patient to explain their situation, and try and come to an agreement that benefits both parties. Keep in mind, though, that there needs to be a balance here as well, between friendliness and being firm in asking for the payment.

3. Payment Plans

Should you discover that a patient is struggling financially, make sure you have payment plans to fall back on. These can help those who are unable to make their payment in full make it over several instalments in a set time period, which might be more manageable for them.

Payment plans can also be communicated to patients from the very beginning. This will attract a larger pool of patients, and can be very beneficial to the practice in the long run. This should, however, be discussed with your financial experts to determine whether or not the practice will be able to handle a large influx of new patients.