Patient Statement Template: What is a Patient Billing Statement and How to Create It
A patient statement template is a draft hospitals, clinics, dental offices, and other healthcare organizations can use to create and send patient statements. It allows them to keep patients updated about how much they have paid and the remaining balances.
The template is a handy tool for institutions to create statements using a standard format. They can use it for reference and tailor it depending on the services they offer to specific patients, associated expenses, payment terms, etc.
Below, we discuss more about these templates, like what to add to them and whether they are HIPAA-compliant. Let us begin!
Key Takeaways:
- A patient billing statement template is a formal document that helps healthcare professionals and firms create timely patient statements. It serves as a reference, allowing them to follow the correct format and not miss out on any crucial information they want to convey to their patients.
- Providers use the patient statement template because they want to offer relevant information to patients about their bills, store accurate records, and avoid payment-related disputes.
- You must add all crucial details in a statement template, like the patient’s name, contact details, insurance information, services used, date of service, total cost due, etc. It should also carry your practice’s name, contact information, logo, and other information.
- Healthcare firms must always send their patient statements on time and use an efficient method of printing and sending them online at low prices. It lets them streamline the payment process and avoid wasting effort and money.
- Since there are many challenges while using a patient statement template, firms must opt for automating their processes and leveraging a HIPAA-compliant direct mailing solution.
What Is a Patient Statement Template?
A patient billing statement template, also referred to as an account statement template, is a document detailing all charges made to a client’s account within a specified time frame.
Unlike an invoice, a billing statement is not sent to tell patients what they owe. It just shows how much your firm has charged them in the past and how much they have yet to pay. It is similar to a monthly credit card statement, which lists all the charges made to your card.
Why Use a Patient Billing Statement Template?
- Record-Keeping: Creating and sending billing statements is polite to your clients and helps you maintain updated and accurate records. It lets you compare statements from different clients to see where your money comes from each month. You can also use this information to make better business decisions in the future.
- Avoid Confusion: A patient statement template helps keep clients informed and prevent confusion. They can have a consolidated view of how much they have paid to your firm in the past and how much more they owe for any recent transactions.
- Maintain Branding Consistency: The template acts as a standard against which your staff can create and send patient statements. It lets you stay consistent with your branding guidelines and voice, allowing you to create brand recognition.
- Save Time and Effort: Another reason hospitals, clinics, daycare centers, etc., use a patient billing statement template is to cut the time and effort they need to create patient statements. Referring to a sample and auto-filling the variable patient details is much more effective than creating these documents from scratch each time!
What Information to Add in a Sample Billing Statement to Get Quick Payments (With Templates)
A patient-friendly billing statement should have all the necessary elements to make it faster and easier for patients to access their information. Hospitals, clinics, etc., can use a PDF sample or pre-built patient statement template for reference to not miss out on adding crucial details.
Practice’s Information
Adding your practice’s or hospital’s information allows you to communicate your contact details, brand name, and address to the people you render your services to. They can use such information to contact you whenever needed. Also, it displays your brand as reputed and credible!
Patient Information
After adding your details to the patient billing statement template, you must fill out the correct patient information. It includes the patient’s full name, unique ID number (if you use such a system), contact number, and delivery address. Some healthcare providers also mention the department (such as oncology, cardiology, etc.).
Payment Methods
You might collect payments from patients on a per-transaction or monthly basis. It depends on your business type and the medical services you provide.
However, your patient statement template must always have a section highlighting the payment channels. Mention whether you accept a check, credit card, or other methods. Please don’t forget to add your account number, bank name, and IFSC code in case some people want to transfer the money online.
Some hospitals and other clinical institutions have a payment portal, wherein patients can log in and pay their invoices. If you also have such a portal, include the accurate link to it.
You can leverage a direct mail API, like PostGrid, that lets you add custom QR codes and personalized links. Patients can visit the link or scan the code to pay the amount due. They don’t need to enter their payment details or names since you have already created custom links for them!
Insurance Details
After including most of the basic details, create a section for adding the patient’s insurance information within your patient billing statement template. You can use it to mention the person’s medical insurance provider and other miscellaneous insurance-related information. Also, write the policy name and number to ease the claims process and store accurate records.
Services the Patients Received
You must include a detailed description of the services you offer to the patients. Use billing codes, itemized lists, etc., to highlight them! Also, you must mention the date of service and other crucial information, like the attending physician, number of visits, number of days a patient was admitted to your hospital, etc.
Charges
This field is dedicated to adding the costs of all the services a patient receives. Your patient statement template must have the associated costs with the applied insurance payments, surcharges, taxes, previous balances, adjustments, discounts, etc.
Most firms use a tabular format to highlight the charges. It helps patients know how much they owe their healthcare provider. Also, it allows you to initiate lawsuits for unpaid bills or when people claim they have already paid.
Billing Department Details
Apart from your organization’s phone number and other contact information, you must also mention your billing or finance department’s contact details so that patients can call or email whenever they need clarification or have questions.
Payment Due Date
Add the due date by when you expect the patient to pay the bill. Include it in a visible spot within your patient billing statement template to let patients know and remember this payment period.
Here’s a patient statement template for your reference:
[Letterhead – practice name, contact information, and logo]
[Date of issuing the statement]
Patient name: _____________
Patient’s delivery address: ___________
Patient’s contact details: ____________
Unique ID or registration number: __________
[Patient payment details – previous balance, adjustments, etc.]
| Particulars | Service Date | Amount | Taxes | Total |
| [Line item #1] | [Date] | [$____] | [$____] | [$____] |
| [Line item #2] | [Date] | [$____] | [$____] | [$____] |
| [Line item #3] | [Date] | [$____] | [$____] | [$____] |
| Total Amount: | [Total Amount Due] |
[Insurance payments – provider, policy number, and other insurance-related details]
[Payment methods – cash, card, online transfer, etc. (Your account number, bank name, and other details]
[Your billing department’s contact details
(Name: ____________
Email address: __________
Phone number: ___________)]
[Disclaimer – about late payments, interest charges, etc.]
[Signature]
Businesses can customize this patient statement template to add their preferred information based on their service type.
Also Read: Patient Statement Services
Tips and Challenges When Using Patient Statement Templates
Below are tips you can leverage when creating patient statement templates for your practice:
Send Your Statements on Time
Don’t delay sending out paper statements. You should mail them immediately, with no waiting days.
This is important because the chances of collecting money decrease over time. After 90 days, overdue accounts lose half a percent in value each day. Once a patient has a balance, your practice should send a statement in the next mailing.
Use a Direct Mail Automation Mechanism
You can create and store a patient billing statement template on your office computer for regularly printing and sending statements. However, it is better to rely on a direct mail API or software, like PostGrid.
It enables you to use pre-built invoice templates you can customize to create your patient statements. The best part is you can customize them with your brand’s colors, messages, texts, logos, background, etc.
Don’t Add Confusing Information to Your Templates
Patients often find it difficult to understand the information in a statement. Many get confused by the details of their medical bills.
To make a patient billing statement template easier for patients to read, don’t include “balance aging.” Some patients might think this means they have more time to pay if their balance isn’t in the last aging category.
Also, avoid showing credits on the statement because the amount might not be what the patient is owed back. It could be an insurance credit or a credit that needs to be applied to a specific visit after insurance is paid. This could confuse patients and lead to them calling to ask for a refund.
While creating the patient statement template, check credit balances and apply any credits if needed.
Send Your Patient Statements at Low Costs
Think about setting a minimum amount for sending paper statements. From now on, only use a patient statement template for balances that exceed this amount. Also, factor in the actual cost of generating, printing, and mailing each statement. This will help you decide when it’s worth sending a statement for a balance.
Family billing could help cut costs. Grouping family members on one statement might reduce the expenses of sending statements. Whether this works for your practice depends on your patients. If you choose this, send statements monthly to group all family members together on one statement.
Fortunately, you don’t need to restrict the number of patient statements you send if you use PostGrid. It offers the lowest per-piece rates and offers many discounts on bulk mailing campaigns.
Below are some challenges you may encounter when creating a patient billing statement template:
Not Being Able to Avoid or Manage Issues
Practices should be ready to collect payment when patients receive their services. Many patients leave without paying their bills.
You might hesitate to ask patients for older unpaid bills for several reasons. Maybe you have a long history with the patient, or your practice is part of a small town or community. It could also be that your collection process needs some adjustments. Thus, your patient billing statement template must always be clear and focus on the due date.
Watch out for these signs that a patient might not pay:
- Ignoring statements or phone calls
- Statements returned because they couldn’t be delivered
- Breaking a payment agreement by making only partial payments or none at all
- Asking to extend a payment plan or reduce the amount owed
- Making excuses for why they can’t pay
- Not showing up for scheduled appointments
Complying With all the Rules Regarding Overdue Patient Bills
Practices handling older patient balances should know about the statute of limitations, which is the time limit to start legal actions after an event. In medical billing, it’s about how long you have to collect medical debts, and this varies by state.
Ensure your front office staff understands your state’s rules. Remember, medical bills are seen as a type of written agreement. Hence, use a proper patient billing statement template to store records.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that mainly governs how third-party collection agencies can operate. It was created in 1977 to protect consumers from unfair and abusive collection methods.
Costly, Daunting, and Time-Consuming Collections Process
Many practices face challenges when trying to collect payments. Patients with large balances might delay or never pay at all. Sending statements for small balances can be expensive. Additionally, bad debts often result in recovering only a fraction of the amount when handed over to collection agencies.
Increased Healthcare Expenditures
Healthcare costs are going up. In 2022, national healthcare spending was estimated to have grown by 4.1% to become $4.5 trillion. At the same time, unemployment leads to more unpaid balances being written off.
For employers and employees, this means they are paying more for insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. Your practice can help by offering payment plans or discounts for early payment. Here are some best practices to follow when using a patient statement template:
- Set up clear and specific payment plans and discount rules.
- Make sure all patients have access to these options.
- Leverage these choices to deal directly with patients, which is better than going to court or using collection agencies.
How to Make Your Patient Billing Statement Templates HIPAA-Compliant?
You can ensure your patient billing statement template follows HIPAA regulations by using a HIPAA-compliant direct mail automation solution, like PostGrid.
It allows you to leverage several security measures and maintain the highest confidentiality levels. You can avail of:
- HIPAA, PIPEDA, and SOC-2 compliance: PostGrid complies with many data protection laws across the US and other countries, including HIPAA, PIPEDA, GDPR, SOC-2, etc. Thus, you can rest assured that your patient statement template doesn’t lead to a data breach or legal penalty.
- Encryption: Your information securely travels to the servers and only you can access it.
- User permissions: You can modify your user permissions and control who can log into your PostGrid account.
- Audits: Record every aspect of your mailing campaigns from the number of patient statements you send to the patient details to whom you mailed the items. PostGrid facilitates data management by allowing you to access the date, time, and other details of your placed and completed orders.
Bottom Line
A patient statement template makes life easy for your hospital or clinic staff because they can use it as a reference to create accurate and professional patient statements. You can also ensure branding consistency using a standard sample.
The template should have all the necessary information, like the patient’s and your contact details and name. Also, it must carry all transaction details, amount due, taxes, due date, payment terms, disclaimers, and more.
Please ensure to send patient statements on time to receive quick payments and avoid confusion. Also, leave enough space between different sections to not overwhelm the recipients. Let them contact your billing department if they have any questions or concerns.
The best way to tackle any challenges is to use automated direct mail solutions, like PostGrid. It lets you design, print, and mail your statements online at the lowest prices across the US.
Sign up for more details on how to use a patient statement template via PostGrid!
Frequently Asked Questions
What's on a patient billing statement template?
A billing statement, also known as a statement of account, lists all charges made to a particular account over a period of time. It’s useful for keeping both you and your clients organized.
How frequently should you ship the patient billing statements?
Patient statements are sent regularly to keep clients informed about all charges to their accounts. Monthly is best, but you might also opt for quarterly statements based on your service schedule.
What's the difference between a patient statement template and an invoice?
A patient statement template usually doesn’t need immediate action, while an invoice does. An invoice tells a client what they owe, whereas a billing statement shows them what they’ve been charged previously.
Are patient statement templates and billing statements one thing?
Yes, account statements and billing statements are the same thing. Billing statements are typically used for financial services provided, but you can call the statement either an “account statement” or a “billing statement.”
