Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | RSS
Did you know that 40% of Americans cannot afford an unexpected expense of $400 or more? And this stat was found before the pandemic wrecked most American’s savings accounts. As practices have reopened for business, the insecurity around finances to cover medical treatments and purchases like contact lenses or glasses can greatly affect not just your patients’ ability to get the care they need, but the ability of your practice to compete with online retailers offering delayed payment structures.
In a perfect world, patients would be able to pay in full up front for all products and services. But the world is far from perfect, and today’s economic challenges can be extremely prohibitive for our patients seeking care. Instead of putting yourself at risk by accepting partial payments and then being stuck eating the costs, we’re learning about an excellent alternative that serves both doctors and patients from successful private practice owner Dr. Benjamin Thayil and Robert Nunziato of Sunbit.
If you don’t have a system to handle payment plans in your office, you may be left holding the bill for patients who did partial payments for products and then slip through the cracks. Dr. Benjamin Thayil is the practice owner of Lifetime Vision and Eyecare in Miami, Florida. “We’ve all heard the saying cash is kind,” Dr. Thayil says. “But really we should say cash flow is king. If you can preserve the patient’s cash flow by breaking down payments into smaller installments, and preserve the office’s cash flow by receiving full payment at time of service from a 3rd party vendor, everyone benefits.”
Sunbit is the third party vendor that Dr. Thayil has incorporated into his office to make payment plans easy and approachable for patients. With Sunbit, 90% of customers are approved for payment options, and every single transaction includes 3 months of interest free payment options. The application takes roughly 30 seconds and includes only a soft credit check which will have no impact on a patient’s credit score. All staff will need to enroll a patient is to scan their driver’s license.
“I always tell patients, I never think you can’t afford something,” Dr. Thayil explains when a patient asks him how much something will cost in the exam room. “I always think costs are just unexpected. And when costs are unexpected, it’s easier to spread it out over time, and that’s what we’re going to help you with when we go out to the optical.”
Are you frustrated with the slow process of credit approvals in your office, or being left holding the bill when you offer in-house payment plan options? Head to https://optical.sunbit.com/defocusmedia to learn more about how you can incorporate his fast and easy system to help your office, staff, and your patients get access to the care and products they need as easily as possible.
