The best patient relationships keep money out of it.

A consultant asked us recently whether his PA could start chasing unpaid invoices. It came from a good place. She's the one who speaks to patients most, so surely she's best placed to nudge them about money.

We said no, and he was surprised. Not because she couldn't. Because the day she starts being the person who asks patients for money is the day that warm, easy relationship she's built starts to cool.

Two jobs, two kinds of expert

A brilliant medical PA is brilliant at the clinic day to day. The diary, the patients, the referrers, the thousand small things that make a practice feel calm and well run. That's a real skill, and it rests on the patient trusting the voice on the phone.

Billing is a different skill entirely. Insurer rules, shortfalls, remittances, the polite persistence of chasing. Asking your medical PA to do it is a bit like asking her to run your social media. She might manage, but it isn't what she's great at, and something else slips while she tries.

Why we keep them separate

When billing sits with a dedicated billing team, your PA stays firmly on the patient's side. She's never the one asking for money, so nothing awkward ever creeps into that relationship. The billing experts and your PA still work closely together, they just hold different ends of it. The patient experience stays warm, and the money still gets collected, properly and on time.

Let each do what they're great at

If your PA is quietly picking up billing chases at the moment, that's worth a look. Free her to focus on the clinic and the patients, where she's worth her weight, and let the billing side sit with people who do only that. You lose nothing on the money, and you protect the relationship.

Between issues

That's October's one idea. If you're not sure where the line currently sits between your PA and your billing, reply and I'll happily talk it through.