When is it acceptable to not charge a patient for services rendered?

mallard@grahamhospital.org

Would anyone be willing to share a policy on when it is appropriate to not charge a patient for services rendered and the proper channels to get this approved? From a compliance standpoint, we want to ensure we have gone through the channels to either not charge, credit or write off a charge.

 

Example scenarios:

Recalls and duplicate services - something was wrong with an image or a specimen was contaminated

 

A physician wants to "no-charge" a patient because they are related to a co-worker, etc.

  

We do have a process in place for administrative write-offs and such. Just needing to identify/put into place a similar process for these other scenarios. Any guidance is appreciated. 

Shawishihaynes

We have a write-off policy and all write-offs requires multi-level approval.

We have a separate policy for members of our medical staff that outlines what we will allow for write-offs for specific family members, however, we will not write-off if there is insurance only out of pocket.