Discounts are designed for specific reasons that can be applied to certain demographics or special & authorized cases. As they are available for a list of services (like tests, health discounts package, etc), they must be managed efficiently. This is to prevent error-based calculations at the billing or through the EOD balances. This is why planning a better way for discount management is essential for every lab business management.
Firstly, lab discounts made through the front desk or at-home collection registration must be traceable. Tracing any changes can help us monitor the daily finances better and ensure better flow. Let’s look at the other steps to managing this part of billing.
Benefits of discount management for medical labs
Attracting New Customers
Medical Discount benefits can be an effective way to attract new customers to your medical lab. Offering discount on lab tests/services can entice people to try your lab, especially if they are looking for affordable options. By offering discounts, you can introduce your medical lab to potential customers who may become loyal clients in the future.
Retaining Existing Customers
Lab Discounts are not only effective in attracting new customers but also in retaining existing ones. If you offer healthcare discounts to your loyal customers, they are more likely to stay with your medical lab instead of switching to your competitors. By offering discount on lab tests to existing customers, you can increase their loyalty and satisfaction. And they may refer your lab to their friends and family.
Improving Cash Flow
Discount management systems can also help your medical lab improve its cash flow. When you run lab test offers, you may not receive the full amount of lab spend for a particular service or test. But it can help you generate revenue faster. Instead of waiting for full payments, you can offer lab test discounts to incentivize customers to pay upfront. This can improve your cash flow and help you manage your lab spend and finances better.
Boosting Your Reputation
Discount lab management can also help boost your medical lab’s reputation. If you offer laboratory discounts on high-quality medical tests or services, you can establish your lab as a provider of affordable yet reliable medical care. Your customers will appreciate the value that you offer, and they may leave positive reviews and testimonials. This can attract more business to your lab.
What are the steps of Discount Lab Management?
Setting control with time & other constraints
A robust laboratory information management system can help you set control over healthcare discounts with time & other constraints for each test. This ensures that there are no changes in entering discounts at the front desk. You can implement it by setting discount on lab tests; such as age groups, time slots, patient premium cards, etc. This will ensure the front desk user gets direct numbers to enter rather than deciding for himself.
Enabling the approval process for discount changes
While setting an exact number can help you have control over specific cases, having a discount approval process can help you make changes to it as and when required. Using this, the front desk user can get such changes verified by the admin or other higher authority before billing it. The verification process is done using an OTP system or by setting up any other approval process. Thus, with these steps implemented, there would be a continuous check over lab discount changes to prevent any financial anomaly at billing.
Using activity logs to monitor discount management changes
Better decisions are made when you have better tracking and monitoring through your LIMS software. The activity log is one feature that you should avail from your LIMS vendor for effective discount monitoring at every stage of lab operations.
In conclusion, laboratory discount management is essential for your medical lab, as it can attract new customers, retain existing ones, improve cash flow, and boost your reputation. However, it’s important to manage lab test discounts effectively to ensure that they don’t negatively impact your profitability. By finding the right balance between offering discount benefits and lab test offers to manage your costs, you can achieve your lab business management goals and build a loyal customer base for your medical lab.
