ADVERTORIAL
Accordingly, once a "bad-payer" has been identified and
has refused answering to various statements and reminders
issued by the practice in question, he can be issued with
a letter of Notification of further Legal Action and Adverse
Listing as formatted by the UmbrellaThorn Data legal team.
This letter thereafter permits legal listing on the web-linked
data system if the client does not reply within 48 hours of
receiving the letter.
The veterinarian by law then no longer needs to render
the registered client any services until fees are paid. The
enlisted client’s details can now be accessed by any
surrounding veterinary practice that signs up to the system.
The next veterinarian approached by the same debtor can
now legally, and according to the history, refuse service
afterhours or during regular consulting hours. Ideally such a
client should rather be referred back to the practice where
he holds an outstanding account and be encouraged to
pay this before receiving service.
To comply with the Confidentiality Clause, a template of
Terms and Conditions is also provided on the system by
the UmbrellaThorn Data legal advisors. These Terms and
Conditions require a signature from the addressed client
which hereby authorises the veterinarian to disclose
relevant information to third parties. The terms and
conditions should then be incorporated into any standard
admission forms of the hospital to make the process
completely legal.
So what does this mean for Mr "Chop", the Pitbull breeder?
With the application of the Umbrella Thorn App, Mr "C" is
now registered on the system and the next vet rung in the
middle of the night can cross-reference his phone number
or I.D. number and legally refuse him service until his debts
are fully paid. Amazingly, he has started making payments.
The proven benefits of using this software have already
been trialled by most veterinary clinics in Mpumalanga.
These benefits include a great increase in immediate
payment once the first Letter of Adverse Listing is issued
as well as further returns once clients realise the practical
implication of being listed. From that point onwards it
avoids debts from ever starting to build-up and, most of all,
it finally provides an effective forum from which colleagues
can engage with each other in mutually beneficial co-
operation.
UmbrellaThorn Data might just be what we have waited
for to get back to enjoying the clinical challenges of our
profession. It should allow us to improve the quality of our
work by focusing on our case load rather than fighting
fruitless and stressful administrative battles, especially in
this day and age, when the effects of a negative economic
growth can be felt all around us and the incidence of
bad payment has a tendency to escalate, we should pull
together and ensure that we receive what is rightfully ours
and what we have studied and worked so hard to achieve.
Issue 02 | APRIL 2017 | 7