Medical practices often feel a strain on cash flow due to unpaid customer invoices. The reasons for this are varied, but it still leaves medical practices with more money going out to pay expenses than is coming in from revenue. In order to ameliorate this situation, many practices are turning to healthcare financing as a viable solution.

What is healthcare financing?

Many patients simply do not have the money on hand to pay their bills in one lump sum. The cost becomes prohibitive when compared to their own priorities and income levels, so they end up putting off payment. Eventually, those bills fall well outside of the aging window, and reminders from the practice’s office do not yield results. This leads to the bills going to collection agencies, and the patients’ credit scores are negatively impacted – and the medical practice still does not see the money they are owed.

Healthcare financing offers patients a way to spread the cost of their bills over low monthly payments. Healthcare financing acts as a line of credit that customers can use specifically for their medical bills at your practice. The financing is set up through a third party, which handles implementation, credit checks, reminders, and handling payments. When a patient applies for healthcare financing, someone in your office places a phone call, and in minutes you will have an answer as to how much financing a patient can receive, based on their credit score.

Easing the strain on cash flow

Healthcare financing solutions are typically partnered with a major credit card company, and patients receive a physical card to be used for payments. Those payments can be made over the phone, online, or at the medical practice. Rather than trying to track down large payments from numerous outstanding patient accounts, the practice will receive a high volume of smaller payments every month. This ensures a steady and healthy cash flow.

Building a reputation

By offering healthcare financing to patients, your practice will build a good reputation for offering flexible solutions. This will prevent patients from putting off care they need, because the overall cost is much less intimidation when spread out over monthly installments. And that alone will give you an edge over other medical practices in the area, as word of mouth spreads when patients talk to family, friends, and colleagues about how your practice offered healthcare financing to make their medical bills less burdensome than other practices.