Joelle Mark,
Ridiculously Nice Compliance Officer
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act puts restrictions on how we are able to contact consumers to collect on your accounts. Some general provisions of the TCPA include but are not limited to; prohibiting calls made to a cell phone with an automatic dialing system without prior express consent and prohibiting faxing, e-mailing and texting unsolicited advertisement without prior express consent.
The TCPA not only affects Americollect, but you as medical providers if you are using an automatic dialing system for appointment reminders, notifications of prescriptions, or anything else. There are a few ways that you can help protect both your collection agency, as well as yourself, from litigation under the TCPA. Do not skip trace for phone numbers. Make sure that if a phone number is for “next of kin”, it is labeled correctly, document that the phone number was given to you by the patient or guarantor, and update your admission agreements, online login agreements, and yearly HIPAA sign offs with the following language:
You agree to receive pre-recorded/ artificial voice messages calls and/or use of an automatic dialing device, text messages and/or emails from CLIENT NAME, our partners, subcontractors, or any and all other companies that we may have to transfer your account to at any telephone number or email address that you have provided us or that we have otherwise obtained, which could result in charges to you. We may place such calls, texts or emails to (i) notify you regarding upcoming appointments; (ii) notify you of results; (iii) troubleshoot problems with your account (iv) resolve a dispute; (v) collect a debt ; or (vI) as otherwise necessary to service your account or enforce this admissions agreement, our policies, applicable law, or any other agreement we may have with you.
The ways in which you may provide us a telephone number or email address include, but are not limited to, providing the information at account opening, adding the information to your account at a later time, providing it to one of our employees, providing it to our partners, subcontractors, or any and all other companies that we may have to transfer your account to, or by contacting us or our partners, subcontractors, or any and all other companies that we may have to transfer your account to from that phone number or email address. If a telephone number provided to us is a mobile telephone number, you consent to receive SMS or text messages at that number. Standard telephone minute and text charges may apply if we contact you. You may revoke this express consent at any time by calling us at: XXX-XXX-XXXX.
By adding the above language to your admissions agreements, you are taking huge steps help Americollect remain compliant with the TCPA which means an ability to collect more money on your accounts.
For questions, please contact our Compliance Team at 800-838-0100 or [email protected]