Marla Merritt is the director of marketing for OrthoBanc LLC. She has 20 years of experience in credit reporting and payment management.
OP: What service does your company provide to orthodontists?
Merritt: OrthoBanc provides risk analysis and payment management. Patient payments are electronically drafted from the patient’s checking, savings, or credit card account. OrthoBanc also handles all patient contacts regarding failed payments, expired credit cards, and balance inquiries. OrthoBanc’s services are integrated with practice-management software companies that make it easy to set up accounts and post monthly payments. OrthoBanc currently integrates with Advanced Ortho Systems, Dolphin Management, IMS, Ortho II, and topsXtreme. OrthoBanc also offers online single payments through TeleVox’s T.LINK.
OP: Do you have any new services that orthodontists should know about?
Merritt: OrthoBanc just introduced credit-bureau reporting and collection-service integration. This is something our customers have been asking about for a while, so we’re very pleased to meet their needs.
OP: How does the collection service integration work?
Merritt: Practices select from three different levels of collection services, and the collection activity is performed by a reputable third-party collection agency. If accounts are not paid within 30 days, they are reported to all three major credit bureaus. Accounts are set up through the OrthoBanc Web site. For less than the monthly cost of a single credit bureau membership, orthodontists can report accounts and have them collected. OrthoBanc charges a $30 monthly fee, which covers the integration with the agency, turning the accounts over for collection, the detailed reporting of collection activity, and reporting the accounts to the three credit bureaus.
OP: How does this benefit an orthodontic practice?
Merritt: The OrthoBanc service encourages swift payment through demand letters from a collection agency. Credit-bureau reporting is also very important because consumers know the importance of protecting their credit and FICO score. OrthoBanc offers discounted collection rates to its customers.
