0% Finance

Our practice uses R4 software, we are looking at offering 0% finance to patients for treatment plans incurring large costs. The finance company deduct their subsidy at source and then deposit the remainder into the practice bank account. How would you overcome allocating the full amount due to the appropriate patient finance, bearing in mind their treatment plan will show a greater amount due than is actually received?

Answer:

We use SoE but perhaps it is similar? I invented a way to show this on the system, but don't know if it is right!

When I receive the finance company statement it tells me that £x is being paid into our bank account, which I then 'pay' on the patient's account and select BACS form of payment (normally you would select CC. visa etc or cash at the rec desk) and I put a note on the payment that it is a loan payment.

The statement also tells me the -£y amount that the finance company keep (your 'interest'). I have an item of service created called 'balancing payment to loan company' which I charge through on the course of treatment with the correct interest amount as a credit to the patient (a minus on our system). These two actions then make their account in credit with the full loan amount.

I don't know how this loan credit service item affects reports used to pay providers, as I don't deal with that myself, but it must show up somewhere to be taken into account.

Answer:

We use SoE Exact but this is what we do in our practice.

In the finance part of the patient file there is an option to input opening balance/ i am not familiar with R4 but if you have the option input (- the subsidy amount) it will at first put the patient in credit, then you input the monies received from the finance company. It should tally to the full amount of the treatment and it should show that the patient is in credit until the full course of treatment is charged.

Answer:

There is an easy way to process an IFC and I’ll tell you how it’s done in my practice.

You process the payment from your IFC company as (cheque for example, that’s how I do it), this will be the amount that your patient wishes to finance minus the cost of the IFC.

Then you credit note on R4 the IFC interest so you can put your patient in credit for the full amount.

Let’s say you patient wants to finance £2000 worth of treatment. The cost will be let’s say £200.00.

You will click Till then Payment and then Cheque and take £1800.00, you will be then £1800.00 IN CREDIT.

You will then credit note another £200.00(the IFC cost) to make the £2000 in credit.

You can then complete your treatment and money will balance.

Answer:

We do a balance adjustment and put comment “finance sub” in text so that it’s clear in the accounting why balance has been adjusted.