If you want your patients to make the switch, if your membership includes The Care Plan Calculator®, putting them on a care plan is the key ingredient!
If you have patients that are already paying monthly and you want to start them on an auto-debit, we recommend having an announcement posted at the front desk that states the following (making it a contest works well too!):
"Effective [DATE]
So that we can continue to provide affordable quality care, we're asking all practice members to leave your billing information securely on-file and allow us to automate the way your payment is being collected. Not only does this allow us to serve you more efficiently, but it's also more convenient for you too! Simply fill out the payment authorization form and your payment will be automatically processed per your authorization for the specified date."
Ideally, your patients would leave their bank account information on file to be debited. Auto-debiting your patient's bank account using a routing number and account number (Bank EFT: Electronic Funds Transfer) is more convenient. Why? Bank accounts do not have expiration dates like credit cards, so you won't have to ask the patient to update billing information. Second, processing EFT's may be cheaper to process versus a credit card since the risk to the bank is less. This is a win-win for your business!
Below is a script for having patients switch their auto-debits from a credit card on file to their bank account:
"Effective [DATE]
So that we can continue to provide affordable quality care, we're asking all practice members to allow us to auto-debit your checking account instead of a credit or debit card. Not only does this allow us to serve you more efficiently and reduce our costs, but it's also more convenient for you too! Simply fill out the payment authorization form and your payment will be automatically processed per your authorization for the specified date. All patients who update their billing from a credit card to their bank account will be entered into a raffle for movie tickets!"
Offices have found that simply raffling off movie tickets, gift cards to a coffee shop, or restaurant have been very effective in getting people to switch. Patients usually want to help the office in any way that they can.
See an example below: