Updated 7/20/21
Four payment options you can use to collect at time of service as you implement enhanced safety precautions.
As you see patients during this time of heightened safety precautions, you’ll need to find the best way to keep your patients and team members safe while still collecting payments. You need revenue to keep your doors open, so it’s still important to make sure you are collecting patient balances.
Use Contactless Checkout Options for Payments at Time of Service
Just because you want to limit the amount of contact between patients and the front office team members doesn’t mean you should avoid collecting payments at time of service. You can still collect payment at time of service in a contactless or nearly contactless way using one of the following options:
Option 1 – Charge a Saved Card on File
One of the strategies you can use for contactless checkout is to use the saved card on file feature in Dentrix Pay to accept co-pay or payment at the time of service. You can also use this method to collect outstanding patient balances without the patient or your office handling cards, checks, or cash. Watch this video to learn more about Dentrix Pay.
Option 2 – Allow Patients to Insert or Swipe Their Card
When patients use credit cards that don’t require a PIN at check out, help them avoid touching the payment terminal by pressing the buttons for them. Patients’ contact can be limited to inserting or swiping their cards.
Option 3 – Accept NFC Contactless Payments
If the patient uses ApplePay, GooglePay, or another digital wallet solution or contactless card, no contact is needed. You can enter the payment details for the patient in the terminal to enable them to use their NFC (near field communication) payment method.
Note: If you have Dentrix Pay or another payment solution that accepts EMV (chip) cards, you do not need a new or different payment device to accept NFC contactless payments.
Option 4 – Collect Payment Information in Advance
When patients check in or schedule an appointment, you can enter the card information in advance on their behalf using the payment device. In doing so, you will have the ability to store the card on file for future payments.
Use Electronic Statements and Online Bill Pay to Collect Outstanding Balances
If you weren’t able to collect the full amount at time of service, you can use QuickBill eStatements to communicate outstanding patient balances via email and allow your patients to make payments online. Patients are able to view their statements through a secure and convenient verification process that does not require credentials, and when the patient pays online the payments are posted automatically to the Dentrix Ledger.
The economic downturn caused by the pandemic may have affected your patients, and QuickBill eStatements can help you be sensitive to those circumstances. You can suppress certain patients from the email delivery and add customized messages to the statement that allow you to acknowledge the challenges that patients may be experiencing.
Watch this video to learn more about QuickBill eStatements.
Don’t let enhanced safety precautions or economic uncertainty stop you from collecting the payments you need to keep your practice running. Implement one or more of these strategies to help you collect at time of service and follow up on past due balances.
Learn More
Watch our on-demand webinar to get other ideas about contactless checkout.
View the Dentrix Pay Quick Start videos or read Introducing Integrated Payments with Dentrix Pay to learn more about saving cards on file with Dentrix Pay.
View the QuickBill eStatements Quick Start videos or read QuickBill eStatements: Send Bills Electronically and Collect Payments Online for more information about sending email billing statements and accepting online payments.
