Curing doctors’ money malaise

Consultants are facing a multitude of problems when it comes to medical billing and collection. Independent Practitioner Today asked billing expert Garry Chapman to keep a ‘warts and all’ diary of the issues he encounters in a typical working week. Here is his report.

MONDAY

It is an early start to the week for me with a trip to the south coast for a 7.30am meeting with an orthopaedic surgeon and his secretary.

He had been referred to me by several of our clients who work in the same specialty and geographical location.

The surgeon explains that, as the practice has expanded, they have struggled to cope with the workload and the debt had continued to grow. They were also having problems dealing with the private medical insurers on their complex operations.