Dr. Indu Arneja is Founder Director of Indian Institute of Healthcare Communication, A pioneer in the field of Healthcare Communication in India
She has conducted around 1500 Clinical Communication programs for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals in more than 100 hospitals and medical colleges across the country.
She is an external assessor for NQAS, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and NABH (IRCA), QCI, India
She is a core group member of Advisory Board on Health and Mental Health for Nation Human Rights Commission.
Dr. Indu Arneja is a visiting faculty to some of the very prestigious organization like IIM Ahmedabad, Delhi Judicial Academy, Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi University, IGNOU and PHFI. She has over 30 years of experience in the field of health and training.
She is a regular invitee at National and International Conferences. Recently, she was invited to attend Annual Summit on "Patient Experience and Empathy" by Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA, 2019. She has been awarded scholarship to attend a prestigious communication course ‘ENRICH’ organized by Academy of Healthcare Communication at Pittsburgh, USA in 2019.
She regularly conducts webinars for national and international audiences. She has conducted multiple webinars for Anschutz Medical Campus, Colorado, US.
She has a YouTube channel in her name Dr. Indu Arneja and has an on-going series under the titles - "Heart to Heart talk with Dr. Indu Arneja" and "Master Stroke with Dr. Indu Arneja".
In this article, Dr. Indu Arneja shares simple and easy to follow strategies to avoid disputes with patients on account of the billing process.
There will be times when in spite of keeping your charges very reasonable your patient may blame you for overcharging, especially during the COVID19 pandemic situation. There is no doubt that you cannot please everyone but the following guidelines can help you manage the situation amicably:
1. Keep your charges reasonable and comparable with the practitioners working in your area of practice (geographical area), unless you are a very renowned practitioner or surgeon and people come to you for your name and fame.
2. Keep your billing very transparent and comparable to avoid any conflict – provide itemised billing to your patients.
3. At the time of admission itself, have a printed estimate ready for the procedure / surgery which should include the cost of both consumables and non-consumables including cost of materials, drugs and other consumables. This should include the room charges, nursing charges, OT charges, Anaesthetist charges (in case an Anaesthetist is involved), and any other charges that you think adds to the expenditure. Do not just hand over the copy of the estimate. If the patient needs to understand, please have someone do so. This is anyway mandatory for Accredited Healthcare providers.
4. Asking patients to deposit a huge sum of money at the time of admission, irks patients. Tell them how the treatment will progress and that the next two or three installments will have to be paid on day two. Most patients will not resist paying small amounts upfront and arrange to pay as the treatment progresses. Don’t show a cold face that you don’t care whether the patient can pay or not or they can take the patient away kind of attitude. It doesn’t help anybody in that situation. This is in effect, the “Moment of Truth” and is also an opportunity to build good relations with your patients.
5. Do not have any superfluous charges in the estimate. It may irk the patient and create conflict.
6. Explain this break up with complete patience in a professional manner. Provide detailed break-up and why specific item(s) have been included and how it was used as a part of the treatment process.
7. Follow the similar process, if you have to give a daily bill summary. This will avoid the dispute at the time of final billing.
8. If possible, have an experienced person like a counselor or a nurse to explain the cost and expenditure. They can work as an interface between you and the patient. In this scenario, there is always an opportunity for the Nurse or Counselor to escalate this to the next senior level. The patient also feels having his/her issue being redressed at a higher level.
9. Maintain a professional distance with your patients to not allow the patient /relative to misbehave with you. Professional distance does not mean being rude but it is being respectful and firm.
10. In the want of admission or surgery do not try to be extra-polite and extra-nice to the patient. The patient may think you are desperate and act pricey.
11. Staying calm and maintain composure while explaining the estimate can help you win patient’s mentally.
12. Never discuss or argue in an open space, as the presence of others can complicate your interaction. The patient/relative may seek extra attention and public support.
13. There will usually be an attendant with the patient, who may be aligning and agreeing with you. Involve that person to handle the situation.
14. There is no harm in knowing what others are charging for the same procedure. Without quoting any one’s name you can mention the regular price in the market.
15. If you are really good at humor, bring in some good examples to support your point. For e.g. when you buy a cup of coffee at CCD, you not only pay for the coffee but for the ambience, facilities and services. Please use these examples, if you are really good at handling people otherwise this can backfire and escalate the argument.
16. In case the patient misbehaves, never get into an argument or unnecessary explanation. This is further going to escalate and leave you feeling hurt and insulted.
17. Have a good rapport with your fellow professionals. In case the patient goes to them and talks ill about you, they should resist professional jousting and stay professional.
18. It is better to lose such patients than keeping them with you and listening to their music. It is not advisable to work under any kind of pressure. You will not be able to give your best.
19. It is important to value your brand for a long haul rather than get into fist-fights with patients and ruin your brand that you have built so lovingly over the year. Every colleague and employee of yours must have the same strategy to deal with patients. An error by any employee can affect your brand value.
20. It is important to have a diary or log of disputes with patients and their concerns. This will help you to identify the most common issues and will enable you to come up with effective strategies to ensure that they are not created in the first place.
She may be contacted on - arnejaindu@gmail.com
#hospitals, #healthcare #patients #bill #billing #admission #disputes #nabh #nabl #jci #nqas #accreditation #relatives #treatment, #medicines #fees #bedcharges #consultation #consultants #charges #consumables #Anaesthetist #QCI #counselling #communication #deposit
