Until a few years ago many private GPs did not invoice until the end of the day when they sent invoices in the post to patients. This is a very time-consuming process which can result in huge amounts of aged debt and admin time to send the invoices as well as chasing outstanding debt. More and more private GP practices are now collecting upfront payment at the time of booking or before the patient leaves the clinic.
Collecting payments for private GP services upfront is the preferred way of collecting payment for a number of reasons:
More recently, as patients have become more familiar with paying for services online upfront at the point of booking, many private GP services have started collecting at least some payment or payment details at the point of booking.
It is now common for private GP patients to pay for their consultation time when booking online or over the phone.
Having a professional website and the facility for your patients to book online can drastically reduce the admin time required for invoicing and cuts down aged debt.
You need to consider your cancellation policy and how you will manage any refunds to patients who have already paid for their consultation but wish to cancel.
We recommend using the billing system Hero Health, a tool that facilitates online booking and prepayment at the time of booking either via credit/debit card or direct debit.
For the costs of any services which arise during the appointment such as pathology or tests, you can raise an invoice within the consultation where customers can pay via SMS with Apple Pay before they leave the clinic.
With Hero Health, any unpaid invoices are chased automatically via SMS or email, so the ageing debt levels are negligible.
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