Over 70% of providers say patient payments take a month or more—and nearly 30% of patients leave appointments without paying at all. In this episode, we dive into the hidden reasons behind delayed patient payments—from forgotten bills to the overwhelming admin burden staff face—and how automated reminders can help practices collect faster with less effort.

They explore how these challenges impact not only cash flow but also patient satisfaction, staff productivity, and long-term growth. The hosts spotlight BillFlash’s PayReminders as a must-have solution for practices struggling with overdue payments.

You'll learn:

• Why patients delay (or avoid) paying their bills
• The true operational and financial cost of manual follow-up
• How automated reminders reduce A/R days by up to 50%
• Why text and email reminders improve both patient experience and payment speed
• What makes BillFlash PayReminders uniquely effective

If you’re still chasing payments manually—or relying on outdated billing systems—this episode shows why it's time to rethink your workflow and embrace automation.

Tune in now to discover how automated reminders can transform your revenue cycle—and your bottom line.

Transcript

Narrator: 00:00

Welcome to the Billing Blueprint Podcast, your go to resource for innovative medical billing solutions. Each episode we explore the latest industry trends and share proven strategies to help your practice streamline operations and get paid faster. Now here are your hosts, Brad and Sarah.

Brad: 00:20

 Did you know over 70% of medical providers say collecting patient payments takes a month or even longer?

Sarah: 00:29

 Yeah, it's quite something.

Brad: 00:30

 Or that, get this, maybe 30% of patients might just walk out of a practice after an appointment without paying anything.

Sarah: 00:37

 Wow.

Brad: 00:37

 I mean, that's not just, you know, an inconvenience. It's a massive financial strain for healthcare practices, dental practices.

Sarah: 00:44

 Absolutely. It creates all sorts of pressures, doesn't it? Impacts daily operations, long term plans.

Brad: 00:50

Everything.

Sarah: 00:51

And what's truly striking, I think, is just how widespread this is.

Brad: 00:53

 Right.

Sarah: 00:54

 It's not only about the money loss, though, that's huge. It's the stress on the admin staff. And it often holds back, you know, important investments like new tech or better patient services, things that could actually improve care.

Brad: 01:07

 So today we're doing a deep dive into exactly that, these challenges with overdue patient payments.

Sarah: 01:12

 And we'll uncover how a specific kind of automated solution is really starting to revolutionize their revenue cycles.

Brad: 01:20

 Our mission here is to give you a clear picture of this whole issue. We want to go beyond just the surface level.

Sarah: 01:25

 Look at the sometimes surprising reasons payments get delayed.

Brad: 01:30

 Yeah. The real world impact it has on.

Sarah: 01:32

 Practices day to day and how technology, you know, is stepping up to bridge this gap, this very costly gap.

Brad: 01:39

 We'll explore the benefits, the mechanics of automated payment reminders, including a close look.

Sarah: 01:44

 At one service BillFlash's PayReminders.

Brad: 01:47

 So by the end of this, you'll really get not just what these systems do, but why they're becoming. Why they're, well, pretty essential for financial stability in healthcare.

Sarah: 01:55

 Yeah, almost a must have now.

Brad: 01:57

 Okay, so we've talked about the financial strain. It's huge. But what's actually driving these missed or delayed payments?

Sarah: 02:03

 Right.

Brad: 02:03

 It's easy to jump to. Oh, people can't afford it. But what's really insightful from our sources is how often it just comes down to, well, simple forgetfulness, really.

Sarah: 02:14

 Just forgetting.

Brad: 02:15

 Yeah. I mean, think about it. Our world is so always on, right? Everyone's inbox is overflowing, schedules are jammed.

Sarah: 02:21

 True.

Brad: 02:21

 A medical bill, it's not like your daily coffee. It's not recurring in the same way. So it just gets lost in all that noise, that cognitive overload that makes sense.

Sarah: 02:30

 It's less a memory lapse and more like a priorization challenge. Than this flood of digital stuff.

Brad: 02:37

 Exactly. And it's not just forgetting, is it?

Sarah: 02:39

 No, definitely not. Beyond that, the whole process of healthcare billing, it creates so much friction.

Brad: 02:46

 Oh yeah, like those EOBs.

Sarah: 02:48

 Exactly. Explanations of benefits. They're often dense, really bewildering documents. You know, trying to figure out what insurance paid, what you owe. And then you might get multiple statements, sometimes they overlap. Plus all the complex medical jargon. It's a maze, it really is. It leaves patients confused and honestly, sometimes just hesitant. They pause, they don't pay right away.

Brad: 03:10

 You can totally see why the stakes get so high then. Especially like you said, for dental practices.

Sarah: 03:14

 Oh, absolutely.

Brad: 03:15

 Our sources say the average dental practice loses about 9% of its revenue just to uncollected payments.

Sarah: 03:21

 Nine percent, that's significant.

Brad: 03:23

 It's not just a number, that's thousands of dollars straight off their bottom line. Most dental offices only manage about a.

Sarah: 03:29

 91% collection rate when the recommendation is what? 98%?

Brad: 03:33

 Yeah, 98% for good financial health. So they're falling quite short.

Sarah: 03:37

 And if you step back that gap, it's a huge opportunity cost for these practices.

Brad: 03:42

 Right.

Sarah: 03:43

 It impacts staff salaries, the ability to buy new equipment, improve the patient experience. And what's even more may be alarming is that dental offices only collect about 26.6% of invoices that are a year or more past due.

Brad: 03:59

 A year, wow.

Sarah: 04:00

 Yeah. It just highlights how critical it is to have quick, effective collection efforts. Because the longer you wait, the less.

Brad: 04:07

 Likely you are to ever see that money.

Sarah: 04:08

 Pretty much, yeah.

Brad: 04:09

 Okay, so we get the revenue loss, big numbers. But let's dig into the day to day. How does this financial strain actually feel inside the practice for the staff for operations?

Sarah: 04:19

 Oh, the operational impact is really considerable. I mean, just imagine the sheer number of hours that healthcare staff spend on manual follow ups.

Brad: 04:26

 Like calling people, sending letters.

Sarah: 04:28

 Exactly. Sending statements, making those collection calls, answering patient questions about confusing bills, meticulously tracking payment.

Brad: 04:36

 It sounds exhausting.

Sarah: 04:37

 It is. And it pulls those valuable human resources directly away from, you know, patient care.

Brad: 04:43

 Or things that could grow the practice.

Sarah: 04:45

 Right. Service enhancements, initiatives that could actually improve the patient experience and drive growth. That all gets sidelined.

Brad: 04:52

 And it's not just the smaller clinics feeling this.

Sarah: 04:54

 Right.

Brad: 04:55

 Our sources show big hospitals, health systems, they're also struggling.

Sarah: 05:00

 They are indeed. They reported a noticeable jump in delayed or missing payments just in the first quarter of 2024.

Brad: 05:07

 So it's widespread.

Sarah: 05:09

 Very. And look at the broader picture. More. More than 1 in 7 non elderly adults in the US live in families with past due medical debt.

Brad: 05:18

 Wow.

Sarah: 05:18

 And almost three quarters of those say at least some of that debt is owed to hospitals.

Brad: 05:22

 That really underscores. It doesn't. This is systemic.

Sarah: 05:25

 It truly is across the whole healthcare landscape. So finding solutions that tackle the root causes of these overdue payments, it's not just good for the practice's bottom line.

Brad: 05:34

 It'S good for patients too.

Sarah: 05:35

 Absolutely.

Brad: 05:36

 Okay, so given all this.

Sarah: 05:37

 Yeah.

Brad: 05:39

 What's the path forward? How do we actually solve this or at least make a serious dent in it?

Sarah: 05:43

 Well, the sources we looked at consistently point towards automated payment reminders as a really transformative solution.

Brad: 05:49

 Transformative. So more than just a little nudge?

Sarah: 05:52

 Oh, yeah, much more. It's really a fundamental shift in approach. These systems are proactive. They're highly efficient.

Brad: 05:59

 How so?

Sarah: 05:59

 They reach patients digitally, you know, Right. On their smartphones, in their email inboxes, where people live these days.

Brad: 06:06

 Right.

Sarah: 06:07

 And this directly tackles a key frustration patients have. We saw that one in three patients are actually dissatisfied with traditional healthcare billing.

Brad: 06:15

 And a big reason is the lack of digital options.

Sarah: 06:18

 Exactly. In a world where you can do almost anything else online, getting a paper bill in the mail feels awkward, dated.

Brad: 06:26

 So it boils down to better communication and convenience.

Sarah: 06:29

 Pretty much. That's at the heart of it.

Brad: 06:31

 But how does an automated system manage to be, you know, gentle? Doesn't it just add to all the digital noise we already deal with?

Sarah: 06:40

 That's a really good question. The idea is that by sending these automated reminders, practices can gently keep that outstanding bill on the patient's radar without adding stress. It's about meeting them where they are, using the devices they already use every single day.

Brad: 06:54

 And it helps the practice side too.

Sarah: 06:56

 Oh, massively. This approach drastically boosts efficiency. It cuts out so many of those time consuming manual tasks we talked about.

Brad: 07:04

 Sending letters, making calls.

Sarah: 07:05

 Right. All that goes away or is significantly reduced, which saves the practice both time and money.

Brad: 07:11

 Okay, efficiency is great. Let's talk bottom line again. What's the actual, tangible financial impact? Are practices seeing a real boost?

Sarah: 07:22

 Yes, definitely. One of the biggest advantages is that direct, often immediate boost to cash flow.

Brad: 07:28

 How does that work?

Sarah: 07:30

 Well, these custom reminders, they proactively prompt patients to pay on time, and that significantly increases collection rates.

Brad: 07:37

 Got it.

Sarah: 07:37

 Think about those dental practices again. They typically lose, what, 7% of an account's value after it's 90 days past due?

Brad: 07:44

 Right.

Sarah: 07:44

 Automated reminders give them a proactive way to recover that revenue before it slips into that aged receivables bucket, before it gets really hard to collect.

Brad: 07:52

 That sounds like a huge leap forward. So, mechanically, how do these systems work? Is it complicated to set up and run?

Sarah: 08:00

 Actually, they're designed to be pretty simple. After the initial setup, minimal ongoing management needed.

Brad: 08:06

 Okay.

Sarah: 08:06

 Essentially, the system automatically generates and sends text and email notifications based on rules and schedules. The practice defines upfront.

Brad: 08:15

 So you set the rules, like how often to remind someone.

Sarah: 08:18

 Exactly. Once a patient balance is identified in their billing system, the automated system starts sending those schedules reminders until they pay. Right. And crucially, once the payment is made, the system automatically takes them out of the reminder cycle. No more messages.

Brad: 08:33

 Smart. So are people actually opening these? I mean, we all get so many texts and emails.

Sarah: 08:38

 The numbers are pretty compelling, actually. Text messages, they have an incredible 98% open rate.

Brad: 08:43

 98%. Wow.

Sarah: 08:45

 And emails average around 22%, which is still very effective, usually in the 17 to 28% range for this kind of communication. So it definitely gets seen, it maximizes visibility and it speeds up action. Patients often respond really quickly. They get the reminder, click a link and pay. Done.

Brad: 09:02

 Makes sense. It catches them when they're likely already on their phone.

Sarah: 09:05

 Exactly. That immediacy captures attention when they're most likely to just deal with it in a few clicks.

Brad: 09:10

 From the patient side, this sounds like a much better experience overall.

Sarah: 09:14

 It really is for most people.

Brad: 09:16

 Are there any downsides though? Like, what about folks who aren't super tech savvy or have really complicated billing questions?

Sarah: 09:24

 That's a really important point. Practices absolutely need to make sure they still have traditional channels, open phone support, paper options if needed.

Brad: 09:32

 Right.

Sarah: 09:32

 But for the vast majority of patients, this digital experience aligns perfectly with what they expect everywhere else.

Brad: 09:38

 Like banking or shopping.

Sarah: 09:40

 Exactly. Paying for coffee with a tap, managing utilities online. It's seamless. Then you get this clunky, confusing paper medical bill.

Brad: 09:49

 It feels jarring, outdated.

Sarah: 09:51

 Totally. And that friction often leads to delays or just people putting it off. These systems help healthcare catch up.

Brad: 09:58

 No more hunting for the checkbook or stamps.

Sarah: 10:00

 Exactly. Frictionless payment.

Brad: 10:03

 Now, our sources specifically mentioned Bill Flash's payreminders service. What makes that particular solution stand out in this area?

Sarah: 10:11

 Bill Flash's payreminders is interesting because it's really designed to streamline the whole process by managing accounts receivable proactively, even before they become technically past due.

Brad: 10:22

 Okay, proactive.

Sarah: 10:23

 And a big plus is its integration capabilities. It apparently integrates seamlessly with over 100 existing billing system.

Brad: 10:30

 A hundred? That's a lot.

Sarah: 10:32

 Makes it adaptable, Very adaptable. Makes it a comprehensive solution. For lots of different practices.

Brad: 10:37

 So what are some of its key features? What does it actually do?

Sarah: 10:40

 Well, it offers highly customizable reminder rules. Practices can set it up to send, say, up to three texts and three email reminders per month.

Brad: 10:49

 Automatically.

Sarah: 10:50

 Automatically until the balance gets paid. It's meant to be very set it and forget it. For the practice staff.

Brad: 10:55

 That sounds appealing.

Sarah: 10:56

 And their model is interesting too. Apparently, practices only pay for reminders that are successfully sent. The system ensures proactive communication, sending reminders pretty much immediately after they're approved, which helps speed up payment timelines.

Brad: 11:10

 And that smart automation you mentioned?

Sarah: 11:12

 Yes, that's critical. As soon as a payment comes in, the patient is automatically removed from the reminder sequence. No annoying follow ups after you've paid.

Brad: 11:20

 That's key for patient satisfaction, I bet.

Sarah: 11:22

 Absolutely. And there's also integrated tracking, so it syncs with their existing systems for real time monitoring of how collections are going.

Brad: 11:30

 So drilling down then, what are the direct, measurable benefits a practice might expect if they implement this specific system?

Sarah: 11:38

 Well, the big one is faster payments. Significantly faster. Automated reminders like these can cut payment delays by up to 50%.

Brad: 11:46

 50%? That's huge.

Sarah: 11:48

 It is. And sources show patients pay, on average, nine days faster when they get multiple reminders across different channels, like text and email.

Brad: 11:56

 Nine days faster on average. Okay.

Sarah: 11:58

 It also leads to more satisfied patients, generally, because the communication is clear, it's consistent.

Brad: 12:03

 Less confusion, less frustration.

Sarah: 12:05

 Exactly. And crucially, for the practice, it means a dramatically reduced administrative workload, less manual.

Brad: 12:13

 Work, fewer errors, which frees up staff to do more valuable things.

Sarah: 12:19

 Look, focusing on patient care, you've really.

Brad: 12:21

 Made the case that these automated systems aren't just a nice to have anymore. They sound like they're becoming a necessity.

Sarah: 12:26

 I think that's right. It feels like a necessity.

Brad: 12:28

 Now, what's the biggest hurdle, though, for practices thinking about making this shift? Is it cost complexity? Fear of change?

Sarah: 12:37

 Well, the market trends certainly point that way. The global healthcare automation market is projected to hit something like $80 billion by 2032.

Brad: 12:45

 Wow.

Sarah: 12:45

 So the shift is definitely happening. I think the biggest hurdle is often just that initial inertia. You know, the concern about integrating new tech into workflows that are already complex.

Brad: 12:55

 Change can be daunting.

Sarah: 12:56

 It can be, yeah. But the reality is integrating systems like pay reminders into existing EMRs or practice management software is usually surprisingly straightforward these days. And the payoff is quick. Practices often see immediate improvements in cash flow and efficiency without needing a massive disruptive overhaul.

Brad: 13:15

 So they can actually start seeing results pretty quickly. That must be a powerful incentive.

Sarah: 13:20

 It's a very powerful incentive. Precisely.

Brad: 13:22

 So, zooming out again.

Sarah: 13:23

 Yeah. If we connect this back to the bigger picture, overdue patient payments, they're not just, you know, a financial headache.

Brad: 13:31

 Right.

Sarah: 13:32

 They fundamentally get in the way of healthcare practices succeeding, especially those striving to give really exceptional care. Automated payment reminders, they really help bridge that gap. How? By improving patient communication, drastically lightening that admin load we talked about, and speeding up cash flow. And significantly speeding up cash flow. It all ties together.

Brad: 13:53

 So it really is about more than just fixing today's cash flow problems. It's about building, well, a more stable financial future. Operational excellence for healthcare.

Sarah: 14:03

 Exactly. A more sustainable model.

Brad: 14:05

 Here's something to think about then. What really stands out is how these systems don't just recover lost revenue, but they might actually transform the patient provider relationship.

Sarah: 14:16

 How so?

Brad: 14:17

 Well, by making that financial interaction smoother, less stressful, more modern. Meeting patients where they are in this digital age, where they expect things to be easy and seamless, could that actually build more trust and satisfaction beyond just getting the bill paid?

Sarah: 14:31

 That's a really interesting thought. Moving it from a point of friction to just a smooth transaction. Yeah, definitely something to mull over.

Narrator: 14:39

Thanks for tuning into the Billing Blueprint podcast. For more insights or to dive deeper dive deeper into today's topics. Head over to billflash.com. Don't forget to subscribe and we'll catch you next week with more strategies to keep your practice running smoothly and getting paid faster

Sources:

Boost Collections Without Lifting a Finger: The Power of Automated Payment Reminders