As we provide a wide spectrum of advice to the modern physician's office, we're becoming increasingly aware that one of the main challenges for a busy practice is to keep tabs on what's being done in its name by third-party debt collectors. While many physicians and practice leaders just assume that their outsourced collection providers are going by the book, many consumers are reporting a variety of harsh or intimidating tactics that are landing these collections agencies, and those who hire them, in hot water.

False Debt Collectors and Other Tactics

One thing that many collection businesses may do is to take a kind of "scattershot" approach to collecting. This may involve routinely calling or harassing individuals that do not actually owe medical debt. Cutting corners leads to clerical errors that can mean big liability for collection businesses and their clientele.

There's also a big pushback against intimidation tactics by collectors. This includes debt collectors who visit patients of the hospital without correctly revealing their role or the nature of their visit. It also includes some of the things that collectors may say over the phone, which, in some cases, are found to be profoundly unprofessional and borderline illegal. In egregious cases, local courts have found against these companies and penalized them with fines and other punishments. But besides the actual legal consequences, there's often a big loss to the reputations of the collectors, and quite a bit of "guilt by association" for practices that didn't fully understand how third parties were going after their money.

Reporting Debt Collection Over-Reach

Many of the complaints that come from patients about aggressive debt collection go to the Federal Trade Commission or FTC, a national watchdog for consumer fraud. Others go to the Better Business Bureau. A bad mark on your BBB report can really hurt your office or clinic. Consumers can also contact a chamber of commerce and generate a lot more bad publicity for the business.

The best way to avoid these kinds of dire situations is by knowing who you are doing business with. Having in-depth conversations with those who will lead your third party collection partners can help to set your mind at ease about exactly how revenue collections will work. Without this critical kind of communication, you're essentially flying blind, and while many doctors are tempted to focus only on patient care and "leave the peripherals alone," in today's world, where patient care is so intensely combined with financial care and oversight, an ounce of prevention, despite the pun, is worth a pound of cure. Don't let your office suffer from these sorts of oversights - take control and make sure that the business bearing your name is setting the right course for the future.