Ask-Doug Seminars Inc. is the nation's leading provider of Accounts Receivable Collections seminars and webinars for healthcare and veterinary medicine. Providing quality education since 1997.
Next Webinar Preventing Delinquent Accounts Thursday, July 9, 11 am Pacific Time 60 minutes - 45 minutes of presentation and 15 minutes for questions $99 - includes 30 days access to the webinar recording $15 additional to extend access to 1 year A lot of delinquencies can be avoided simply by getting the right information, and disclosing the right information, all at the time of service. We'll talk about what information you need to gather, and what needs to be in your financial disclosure. In addition, we'll talk about making it easy for people to contact you or to pay you, and also what you can do to collect from people without losing them as patients. Ask-Doug Seminars has prepared a 1 hour webinar (45 minutes of presentation, 15 minutes for questions) in which we review the things you can easily do to prevent delinquent accounts in the first place Do you know how to handle these situations? What information do you need to get from people at the time of treatment (can you require a social security number?) What information needs to be disclosed at the time of treatment (if your financial agreement isn’t at least a page long, you’re missing some of these items!) What permissions are required to use texting, automated voice messages and emails? Statutes of limitations for collecting (how old can an account be and still go to collections or small claims court? How long can YOU collect on your patient’s accounts?) The right way (and three wrong ways) to ask for payment at the time of service Making it easy for people to pay you or contact you (we’ll talk about 16 different ideas) Collecting accounts without losing someone as a patient or client secure webinar registration form Registration includes 30 days unlimited access by your office to a recording of the webinar. Watch as many times as you want during that 30 days. You can extend the access to the recording for 1 year for only $15.	Free collection tips each week Each week we issue a free collection tip, or answer a collection question. This is emailed to the address you provide. All we ask is you understand these collection tips are not to be used as legal advice. The tips will be used only for your own personal education. In addition, you agree to not forward these tips to other people or organizations, or distribute, use in newsletters, or use in any other way, without the express written permission from us. There is no limit to the number of people who can sign up to receive the tips from a single business or organization. registration form for collection tips You can also see these (as well as previous tips) on our Facebook page.  Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/like.askdoug
	Collection tip for June 30: Q: Last week's tip was about a patient who wanted the office to forgive the finance charges if they paid the account balance in full. What about the patient who can't pay in full but wants to be on a payment plan, and for us to cancel the finance charges? Would you waive the finance charges? A: Yes and no. I will still use the finance charges as a collection tool, but I’ll give the waiver as a reward for making their payments on time. For example, if someone has a $1,000 balance, and wants me to waive the finance charges, but they can only pay $100 a month, for 10 months. I’ll tell them I can’t waive the finance charges if they’re on a payment plan. However, if they make the 10 payments on time, at that time they can ask me for a waiver, and as long as they made their payments on time, I’ll refund the finance charges. If I don’t charge the finance charges, I don’t have the reward to motivate them to pay on time. Another way of saying that, if there’s no penalty for paying slower, they may skip a monthly payment occasionally, and stretch this out to 12 or 15 months instead of the agreed upon 10 months.
What do people say about our webinars? "LOVED IT. It was my first experience with your company and I am hoping to have many more!!!!! All my questions were answered in a way that we can take an apply them all." Dental, Ohio "I enjoy the Ask Doug Webinars and have learned from them." Ambulance, South Dakota "I always pick up some new information or comfirm we are doing things correctly." Optical, Washington "I did not know what to expect but I was pleased with the information presented." Chiropractic, Colorado "Had some great info." Hospital, Missouri "Very informative." Medical, Maryland "I enjoyed the webinar. For me it could be a little bit longer but that is because I always want more information" Billing Service, Oregon "These seminars are short and to the point." Dental, Vermont "Appreciated the ability to ask questions." Medical, Colorado "Excellent presentation" Disability services, Indiana "Was very organized. Was just what was stated and very helpful to have such quick response and chance to get clairification in person." Chiropractic, Oregon "My questions were answered almost immediately, thank you! :)" MRI, Missouri "I related it to situations at our office." Psychiatry, Kentucky "I got a lot of answers to questions I deal with every month on accounts." Physical Therapy, Nebraska	Join us for our upcoming webinars Bankruptcy: From Start to Finish - Wednesday, July 22: When a patient files bankruptcy, that does not mean you won't get any more money. We will review what you need to do to maximize your recovery. We will also review what steps you are prohibited from taking. (30 minutes, $49) 3 C's of Collections: Courts, Collection Agencies & Credit Bureaus - Thursday, August 13: Most of your accounts can be collected in your office using letters and phone calls. But for some of your difficult accounts, it's necessary to use some outside tools. Make sure your office knows how to use each of these tools, plus the advantages and disadvantages each tool offers. (60 minutes, $99) Dealing with Divorce - Wednesday, August 19: In this webinar, we'll talk about how to handle an account when patients & clients go through divorce. We'll also talk about how to handle situations when the parents are already divorced, and a parent is bringing a minor child to your office, but wants you to collect from their ex. (30 minutes, $49) Collections Fundamentals - Wednesday - September 9: Communicating and documenting are the basic building blocks of a successful collections program. In addition, you want to work as efficiently as possible, to collect the maximum amount of money in the least amount of time and with the least amount of effort. (60 minutes, $99) Ask Doug Anything - Thursday, September 24: This is our quarterly webinar of just questions and answers, focusing on HIPAA and collecting from patients. This is free for our Club-Doug members as well as offices who register for a webinar during July - September. (Up to 60 minutes, $29)
Recordings of these recent webinars are available for purchase What a New Collector Needs to Know: We started the New Year with a New webinar for New Collectors! We talk about the things a new collector needs to know to get started. This is the webinar Doug wishes he could have attended on his first day of collections. (60 minutes, $99) 25 Collection Myths: We look at the top 25 myths about collections - things that your patients are sure are true about collections. Or things you thought were true, or wondered about, but aren't true. Includes a quiz you can use to train your staff. (60 minutes, $99) HIPAA revisited: The privacy provisions went into over 10 years ago. But offices still have a lot of confusion on what they can and cannot do. We'll discuss several real-life situations and how you should handle them. We'll also talk about what has caused HIPAA fines and settlements, many of them over $1,000,000. Includes a quiz you can use to train your staff. (60 minutes, $99) Credit Balances: There are federal and state laws regarding credit balances. Make sure you are following the rules and regulations. (30 minutes, $49) Federal Collection Laws: Each office and every collector needs to know the Federal laws that pertain to collections. Failure to follow the law can put the practice in jeopardy, as well as at risk for a lawsuit. A serious breach of a federal law could result in fines and jail time. Periodically, it's good to review these collection laws to make sure your office is in compliance. (60 minutes, $99) 25 More Collection Myths: Earlier we looked at 25 myths about collections. Now we look at 25 more myths - things that your patients are sure are true about collections. Or things you thought were true, or wondered about, but aren't true. Includes a quiz you can use to train your staff. (60 minutes, $99) Creating a Financial Agreement: The more you tell your patients right up front, the easier it is to collect on an account. We'll be looking at some sample language for your financial agreement. We will review the required language if you are charging finance charges or passing collection agency fees on to your patients. We'll talk about how often you need to have your patients review and sign this agreement. If your financial agreement isn't at least a page long, you're missing some items. (30 minutes, $49) Collecting During Life Changing Events: Most patients start out with the best intentions to pay for your services. Unfortunately, some patients may have major changes in their lives--predicted or unpredicted. But accounts still need to be collected. Make sure your office knows how to handle these situations! (60 minutes, $99) Collecting after the death of the patient: Although we will talk about this briefly in the last webinar, we will be spending more time on this subject. What's the easiest thing to do to collect these accounts? Does the spouse assume responsibility? When can you go after the children? What if the patient who died was a child? What if the patient is a child, but their parent (responsible party) dies? (30 minutes, $49) Collections and the Same Sex Couple: As same-sex marriage becomes more common through the US, we thought we'd take a look at how this affects our collection work. Not all same-sex couples are married. Some have domestic partnership agreements, civil unions, or no commitment at all. How should your forms change to reflect this change in society? What questions should you be asking? Access period: Price (above) includes 30 days unlimited access by your office to a recording of the webinar. Watch as many times as you want during that 30 days. You can extend the access to the recording to 1 year for only $15 each (in addition to the webinar fee). To order access to recordings: Option 1: Use our secure webinar registration form Recent webinars may still be on the list for you to check. If the webinar isn't listed, add the webinar name in the "comments" box at the bottom of the page. These orders are processed by humans, so we should be able to understand your purchase. Option 2: Call us at 888-2-ASK-DOUG (888-227-5368). You'll need to have your payment information (debit card, credit card, electronic check) information available.	Join Club-Doug today! Club-Doug is our subscription-membership program that saves you at least 50% in webinar fees. For one low fee, you are automatically registered for all our webinars. Most months we have 2 webinars. You also receive 30 days unlimited access to the webinar recordings. Our Club-Doug members have access to our quarterly webinar "Ask-Doug Anything." This webinar allows you to ask any collection question, and hear the collections questions from other offices across the nation. Do you like the option of extended access to our webinars? We know many offices like having a full year's access to the recordings. Our Enhanced Membership gives you a full 12 month's access to the recordings. Sign up for Club-Doug today! Renewal Period Regular membership dues Enhanced membership dues (12 months of access to webinar recordings) Average price per month for regular membership dues Annual savings, when regular membership is compared to regular webinar fees Monthly $79.95 $89.95 $79.95 $1,068.60 Quarterly $229.95 $259.95 $76.65 $1,108.20 Semi-Annual $429.95 $489.95 $71.66 $1,168.10 Annual $799.95 $899.95 $66.66 $1,228.05 The legal stuff for Club-Doug: We expect you will remain a member at least 3 months. If you cancel your membership before that time, you will be charged the regular price for the webinars & recordings you have received. Membership cancellations must be received by the 20th of the month, effective at the end of that month. Refunds are calculated by taking the amount paid and subtracting the Club-Doug monthly rate times number of months subscription used. For example, someone canceling an annual membership after 9 months would be refunded the amount paid less 9 x the monthly fee. After the initial registration, payments are processed around the 25th of the month just before each renewal period. Expiration dates on credit/debit cards are automatically extended. If your payment is declined, we may suspend your membership without notice at the end of the paid-for period. If your credit/debit card is declined, we will continue to attempt processing for several days. If your electronic check is declined, we will re-attempt once. Price guarantee: Your membership fee is guaranteed not to increase for at least the first 12 months of your membership. If we have to increase the membership fee, you will be notified at least 3 months in advance of any increase. If you cancel your membership, you will still have access to your recording periods you have paid for.
	Ask-Doug Seminars Inc. is the nation's leading provider of Accounts Receivable Collections seminars and webinars for healthcare and veterinary medicine. Providing quality education since 1997.