WORKPLACE RELATIONS

Tips To Secure Payment For Telehealth Services

How can doctors and their staff ensure greater certainty that they will be paid for these services?

Below, we outline some strategies you may like to consider in your practice. The time and costs associated with debt collection mean that taking steps upfront to secure payment at the time the consultation is completed will be more beneficial in the long run.

1. INFORMED FINANCIAL CONSENT

Practitioners and their practice staff should continue to ensure patients are well-informed of the anticipated fees prior to the consultation. Informed financial consent should be obtained from the patient and documented prior to booking a telehealth consultation to avoid later misunderstandings.

If the consultation is booked by the patient online, informed financial consent could be recorded at the time the booking is made online. Where consultations are booked over the phone, consent may be obtained verbally and documented in the patient’s file. Informed financial consent makes securing payment easier.

2. OBTAINING PAYMENT DETAILS PRIOR TO CONSULTATION

This may involve a phone call from practice staff to collect card details prior to commencement of the consultation and then transferring the patient to the practitioner. On completion of the consultation, payment can then be processed using the payment card details obtained.

If this strategy is considered, practice staff must be careful to process and keep payment card data safely and securely in accordance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). These are a set of standards mandated by leading card schemes (including Visa and Mastercard) for the acceptance, transmission, and storage of cardholder data. For the latest version of the PCI DSS as well as a directory of Qualified Security Assessors that can assess whether your practice is PCI DSS compliant, please see the PCI Security Standards Council website. Practices may wish to consider using pre-authorisation to ensure the card is valid and has the appropriate amount of funds. Pre-authorisation can be used to hold a booking for a patient and can guarantee the practitioner is paid at the end of the service without the administrative burden. Your payment facilitator should be able to provide further information about this. dr.

Should you require advice and support regarding informed financial consent and risk management strategies for your practice, please contact the AMA(NSW) Workplace Relations Team at workplace@amansw.com.au or on +61 2 9439 8822