clearly highlighting both account credits and balances during the patient collection process.
Current Challenge:
At times, it’s not immediately obvious when a patient has an existing credit or outstanding balance. This lack of visibility can lead to confusion, errors in collections, or missed opportunities to inform the patient clearly about their account status.
Suggested Improvement:
Introduce a visual highlight (e.g., color-coding, bold text, banner, or a pop-up notification) that automatically appears when accessing a patient’s ledger or collecting a balance. Specifically:
Credits could be shown in green with a “Credit Available” tag
Balances could be shown in red or orange with a “Balance Due” tag
Both could be displayed prominently in the patient’s account summary and at the time of printing walkouts or collecting payments
This would help ensure:
Credits are not overlooked or duplicated in future charges
Balances are collected accurately and efficiently
Staff can communicate account status confidently to patients
Amberlee Ethier
