What goes wrong today
Most write-offs are not decisions. A balance ages until nobody thinks it is collectable, and it leaves the books without anyone choosing that outcome. The practice never learns what was actually recoverable.
Balances
When to Write Off a Patient Balance
Deciding deliberately instead of by neglect.
Deciding deliberately instead of by neglect.
Most write-offs are not decisions. A balance ages until nobody thinks it is collectable, and it leaves the books without anyone choosing that outcome. The practice never learns what was actually recoverable.
What good looks like
A stated threshold and process, so a write-off is a decision with a reason — which also makes it possible to measure what a recovery effort is worth.
- A written threshold rather than an implicit one
- A recovery attempt before write-off
- Reason recorded so patterns surface
- Hardship handled as policy, not exception
What to measure
Agree these before changing anything, so the effect is visible rather than argued about.
- Write-offs as a share of patient A/R
- Recovery rate on balances before write-off
- Average age at write-off
Where we stand: In development
Recovery-before-write-off is what the A/R work in development targets.
Rollout checklist
- Document how this is handled today, and by whom.
- Put a number on the hours or dollars involved.
- Decide which cases must always reach a person.
- Agree the metrics you will judge success on.
Frequently asked questions
Do you solve this today?
Recovery-before-write-off is what the A/R work in development targets.
How do we know if this is our biggest gap?
The Front Desk Opportunity Scan ranks this against every other area using your own volumes.
Keep going on MedReception.ai
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