Jump to Section [Credit Card Processing Changes] [Gross Billing No Longer Supported] [Appointment Reminders]
Credit Card Processing Rates
Your merchant processing rates are in alignment with competitive healthcare industry rates and in compliance with regulatory standards. Given the increasing costs to accept and process transactions for American Express cards, the base transaction rate for American Express card types is a different rate than all other cards. Please review the fee structure outlined in the table below:
NOTE: You can view credit card charges on the Credit Card Charges Report.
| Major Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Capital One, etc) |
American Express | |
| Credit Card Fees (Last update 05/01/22) |
2.99% + 0.30 per transaction |
3.79% + 0.30 per transaction |
Credit Card Processing terms of service.
Gross Billing No Longer Supported
For those who are still on the Legacy Gross Billing processing model, your account will be moved to Net Billing on, or soon after May 11th, 2021. This means transaction fees associated with your account will have already been deducted from your deposits when they’re made throughout the month as transactions occur. You will no longer see fees debited separately 1-3 days after your deposit. The fees for each transaction can still be viewed in the Credit Card Charges Report in the reports tab in TheraNest.
To learn more about Net Billing, please read: Net Deposits: Understand Credit Card Deposits and Processing Fee Withdraws.
Appointment Reminder Fee Breakdown
Phone and Text Appointment Reminders fees will update as of 5/11/21. Email Reminders are free, as always.
Research Shows
Research shows that on average, mental health providers experience a no-show rate of 23-34%. Some practices have as high as a 60% no-show rate. This not only results in poor outcomes for patients, but in a significant threat to your revenue cycle.
Here’s the math:
Total Loss: $91,872 |
There are several ways to remind the patient that they have an upcoming Appointment. The three most common ways are via email, phone call or SMS text messaging. Here’s what you need to know about your options.
Email Reminders
Email Reminders are a simple message sent to a patient’s designated email address that contain brief HIPAA-compliant messaging reminding the patient of their upcoming Appointment. They are free to use inside of your TheraNest account. One important factor to consider is that, in general, the average open rate for emails is just 22%. That means out of 30 patients per week, only 6-7 of them will read the reminder you send them.
Phone Call Reminders
Phone Call Reminders can also be automated in your TheraNest account for just $.07 per minute. If your patients answers, they will hear a brief recorded message reminding them of their upcoming Appointment. If they do not answer, the message will be left on their voicemail. It’s important in this case to note that only 33% of voicemail from business contacts are listened to, and only 18% of voicemail from unknown numbers are listened to.
SMS Text Reminders
Text messages consist of a brief, generic, HIPAA-compliant message sent to your patient’s designated phone number reminding them of their Appointment. These types of Reminders can also be automated from inside your TheraNest account for just $.07 per text**. What makes this type of reminder a preferred method is the fact that more than 90% of people not only read a text message but read it within the first three minutes of receiving it.
NOTE: **Texts include inbound and outbound texts and single text is 160 characters or less. Learn more here.
Patient Satisfaction Matters
In a recent survey of approximately 14,000 patients who were asked how they would like to be reminded about upcoming Appointment, the results were as follows:
- 48% prefer Text Message
- 29% prefer Phone Call
- 21% prefer an Email Reminder
How effective are Appointment Reminders?
Numerous studies show the effectiveness of Appointment Reminders in the behavioral health setting. Some indicate that no-show rates can be reduced to less than 5%. When considering making the choice for your practice, compare your costs to the potential loss you will experience based on the above math. We think you’ll agree that Appointment Reminders are a very cost-effective way to help improve patient outcomes while strengthening your revenue cycle overall.