Why Physicians Need An Annual Check-Up With A Healthcare Banker

Many physicians advise their patients to undergo annual check-ups to remain healthy and to identify any significant health changes. These are similar reasons First Independent Bank encourages healthcare providers and practices to undergo an annual financial wellness check. 

A yearly financial “exam” will help you discover information about your financial accounts and new banking services that streamline many business functions, allowing your employees to concentrate on more crucial tasks. Are you adequately protecting your accounts from fraud? Are there ways to accelerate payments to your practice? What tools are available to protect my personal or practice’s cash deposits? All of these are important issues for healthcare practices to consider on an annual basis.

Credit Report Analysis

Everyone, including healthcare professionals, should check their credit reports annually. It’s a free service option available online, and it is often the best way to determine if someone is using your identity - including your Social Security number - without your knowledge. The credit report will show every credit account, bank account, mortgage and loan open in your name. If you spot something unfamiliar, pay attention to it and take corrective action if required. You may also want to consider “freezing” your credit, preventing anyone from opening an account without your knowledge.

Protecting High-Balance Accounts

Many physicians and healthcare practices have bank accounts with balances above the FDIC standard insurance limit of $250,000. Many business accounts may exceed this limit. Solutions such as the IntraFi¹ Network provide additional safeguards for high balance accounts. Here’s how it works: once a money market or checking account reaches a balance of $250,000, the overage amount is automatically deposited into a separate FDIC-insured account at a participating IntraFi member bank, where it also receives FDIC insurance coverage. The IntraFi network allows the accounts of business owners and individuals to receive up to $50 million in FDIC protection through one single account, all while only working with the bank you know and trust.

Fraud

Fraud is like a virus that just won’t go away. Those with bad intentions are consistently looking for ways to exploit potential weaknesses, and there have been many cases where healthcare practices have been victimized. Healthcare practices should consider services such as Check Positive Pay². This protection helps to ensure that only the checks you have issued, in the amount you intended, to the payee you intended are paid. This service reduces check washing issues and may prevent someone from printing new checks with your routing and account number and attempting to cash them.

Healthcare provider companies often look for ways to become more efficient and accelerate payments to their practices. Several services provide these solutions and allow owners to concentrate on growing their business.

Online Payments

Online payments are incredibly convenient for the consumer, but there’s another benefit. Online payment systems accelerate payments to your practice and improve your cash flow. Payments received through an online payment system eliminate the need to process checks manually, fill out deposit slips and make trips to the bank. With a product called eZePay³, healthcare providers can accept credit, debit or Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments, and the entire process is HIPAA compliant. eZePay provides built-in remittance and payment data to the user providing efficient, straight-through processing and automatic reconciliation with many accounting programs. Another benefit of using eZePay is that all patient banking information is securely stored by the bank instead of on your company’s computers, reducing risks associated with identity theft. For patients and vendors, it is simple. Payers view and pay their bills 24/7 from any device, including a smartphone, tablet or desktop.

Lockbox⁴ Services

Healthcare practices that receive many check payments every month can drastically reduce the manual processing associated with these payments through our lockbox service. Typically, a bank will provide a local P.O. Box to accept payments on behalf of your company and process all payments sent through the mail. Healthcare clients receive images of all checks, documents and correspondence, as well as reporting to manage and reconcile payments. Checks are immediately deposited into your designated account, eliminating the need for your staff to process checks and deposit them at the bank manually. 

The knowledgeable members of First Independent Bank’s healthcare banking team can provide your business with a financial wellness exam and explain the customized solutions and safeguards that create time and money-saving efficiencies for businesses like yours. To learn more, please get in touch with First Independent Bank and schedule an appointment with a member of our healthcare banking team.