Healthcare financing is a method of payment that allows patients to remain financially responsible for their own medical care. When medical practices choose to offer financing programs with little interest and low fees, patients are often able to afford care that would otherwise be financially prohibitive. In the current healthcare environment, patients and medical practices are feeling constraints due to the lack of accessible insurance. Patients may refrain from seeking medical services because they are unable to meet high deductibles. Potential patients may avoid treatment because they are under-insured or have no insurance. A financing program offers a solution to this dilemma.

How can you tell if financing is a good option for your practice? Take a look at three factors: Has your number of patients dropped offer over the past few years? How much have your collections costs increased? How would you rate the financial security of your practice?

The first of these three factors has to do with both the number of patients you have and the level of satisfaction your patients feel. If you’ve seen a decrease in the number of patients visiting your practice, the cause could be that patients are not able to pay for their care. This could be due to high deductibles or the inability to pay for insurance. In some cases, patients may have insurance, but their coverage isn’t adequate. When these patients do seek medical care, they may be left with large amounts of debts that then lead to collections activities.

Those collections costs are detrimental to both the patient and your practice. You may have noticed that an inordinate amount of effort goes into tracking down payments. Even with the administrative costs in time and effort, your practice may end up absorbing a large percentage of those unpaid debts. This can have long-term consequences for your practice.

Healthcare financing may be the best option for your practice if you’ve noticed that your practice isn’t as financial healthy as you’d like. With your number of patients dwindling and the work invested in seeking payment for services increasing, your financial stability could be at risk.

If you’ve experienced any trouble with these factors, healthcare financing could be the answer. A financing program may offer patients with affordable access to the care they need, as well as a way to control their costs. The program may prevent unpaid bills from heading into collections as patients are able to handle the established monthly payments. This, in turn, could lead to a healthier financial outlook for your practice.