Our client-partners at DCS have really taken to our automated patient billing solution. Automation has turned what used to be a huge manual administrative load for your dental team into a hands-free process. We spoke to a few customers to learn what exactly they love most about DCS patient billing solutions. The gist: it’s seamless, convenient, and consistent. They have lots more to tell you, so read on.
Traditionally, patient billing meant simply collecting from patients in the office immediately after their treatment, and if they didn’t pay then, you eventually mailed them a bill. After a few weeks, if the patient hadn’t yet paid their bill, you’d begin mailing payment reminders, and perhaps reach out via phone or email to encourage them to send a check.
This process made it challenging to collect quickly from patients, with many opportunities for errors from your team, your patients, and the post office that would further slow your cash flow. Because of the weaknesses in this manual process, many dental businesses were losing thousands of dollars to outstanding patient balances — and there was no alternative.
But now that technology has evolved and improved, there is an option that fixes all the flaws in the usual paper-based patient billing.
Today’s automated patient billing solutions take all that manual work off your team’s plate to manage the entire process with a streamlined, hands-free process from the initial bill to the write back.
DCS offers automated patient billing to private practices, oral surgery practices, and DSOs, and it's a perfect fit for them all. Here’s what a couple of our client-partners at DCS have been loving about our patient billing solutions…
Key takeaways from client partners about DCS Patient Billing Solutions:
- Automated patient billing greatly simplifies the patient collection process for everyone
- Patients want convenience, and automated patient billing solutions provide that
- Your administrative team will enjoy the reduction of manual, tedious billing work
- A team that isn’t burdened by paperwork has more time to spend with patients
Favorite #1. Hands-free patient billing: A stress-free solution for your practice
Automation takes care of your patient billing without any effort on your team’s part. As you can imagine, administrative teams are thrilled with this.
Zoe, the office manager of our client-partner Alexandria Family Dental, told us:
“We specifically love that patient billing has been taken completely out of our hands.”
It may seem like a simple perk of automated patient billing, but this has a huge impact on how your administrative team spends their day.
When they’re bogged down with calling patients about outstanding balances, or printing and mailing statements, and then a patient walks in that needs care — it’s easy to get stressed from the constant shifts from one critical task to another.
And we get it! We’d be stressed, too. The same is true for the rest of your team. That mental and emotional strain can permeate your entire office, negatively affecting the quality of care and attention the patients in your office receive.
But when your team can give their full attention from the moment a patient walks in the door to the end of their visit, your patients will have the experience they deserve because your staff won’t have vital billing tasks looming in the backs of their minds.
Favorite #2. Consistent payment reminders: Stay top of mind without postage or paper
Automated payment reminders are system-generated text or emails that ensure patients are consistently informed about upcoming or overdue payments. You might be amazed at how these little nudges can create a constant stream of patient payments.
So not only will your team not have to do the time-consuming manual work of preparing and mailing statements and bills, you won’t have to worry anymore about the ever-increasing expenses for paper, printing, and postage.
Zoe expands on why mailing bills was a problem for Alexandria Family dental:
“We were having to mail statements, and if a patient moved, the statements were returned to us. We’ve noticed way more people paying their balances now. We mostly have small balances, so it’s nice that we don’t have to use paper and stamps to send those out.
When people call to verify the text or email they got is legit, they tell us they didn’t even know they had a balance, so it’s great that they are paying.”
Automated billing gives your team peace of mind. They can be assured that your patients’ bills aren’t getting lost in the mail. The self-managed automation also improves accountability on the part of the practice and the patient — text and emails aren’t held up by bad weather or long weekends. You can trust that a reminder was sent, and patients can trust payments were received.
Plus, the automatic payment reminder sent via text or email has a direct link to an online payment portal that accepts cards and digital wallets (such as Apply Pay), encouraging patients to settle their bill immediately.
Read more: Happy patients, happy practice: 3 ways to improve your dental patient experience
And when your patients can pay you more conveniently, they’re more likely to pay — and pay right away — which will increase and speed up your collections. Let’s talk more about that….
Favorite #3. Direct payment links: Quick and convenient online payments
Today, everyone’s all about convenience. And it doesn’t stop when they leave your dental office — patients expect a seamless experience all around, from scheduling their appointment to paying their bill. Anything less than easy can impact whether they return to your office or choose a different dentist.
Automated patient billing makes it easier than ever for your patients to pay you. As soon as their balance is known, the system sends a direct payment link by text or email directly to your patient’s digital device. The patient then clicks the link and arrives at a payment portal that accepts payment by debit card, credit card, and even digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
These simple links make it as easy as possible for your patients to pay their balance right away — any previous friction from your traditional payment process is eliminated for good.
Related: How to have a patient-centric dental business: 3 tips (Free guide)
Lisa Metzen, DDS PA of Eagle Ridge Dental, tells us:
“DCS Patient Billing is convenient for our patients, and balances are being paid much quicker than before.”
When you think about how we handle envelopes versus how we handle messages, that makes sense.
When I get something in the mail, I might open it, set it on the counter, and forget about it. But when I get an email or text that says, “You have an outstanding balance” with a big button that says Pay Here? It’s right there in my hand, on my phone, and I’m just a click away from paying immediately.
This can be your patients’ experience, too. And it’s certainly what Lisa at Eagle Ridge Dental is experiencing from the admin side: balances are settled faster while her team didn’t have to lift a finger.
Will you give your patients the dental experience they deserve?
To recap, here are 3 features are client-partners are loving about DCS Patient Billing Solutions:
- Favorite #1. Hands-free automation: A stress-free solution for your practice
- Favorite #2. Consistent payment reminders: Stay top of mind without postage or paper
- Favorite #3. Direct payment links: Quick and convenient online payments
When you automate your patient billing, payment is made more convenient for patients, and your team’s workload is lessened — they’re free to focus on patients who are actually in your office, versus chasing down yesterday’s patients for their outstanding balance.
DCS offers end-to-end revenue cycle management solutions, with DCS Patient Billing being one of our client-partners’ favorites.
Get more patient revenue sooner, and take their dental experience to the next level: Book a free 30-minute consultation today.
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