{"id":15652,"date":"2026-06-18T12:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T10:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swikly.com\/?p=15652"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:12:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T10:12:31","slug":"vrai-cout-impaye-clinique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swikly.com\/en\/medical\/2026\/06\/vrai-cout-impaye-clinique\/","title":{"rendered":"Calculate the true cost of non-payment in a clinic: the formula nobody gives you!"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Unpaid\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

The question on everyone's lips<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

This is the question many clinics ask themselves without ever really looking for the answer: is an unpaid bill of \u20ac200 really a loss of \u20ac200?<\/p>

This belief is however false. Behind these 200\u20ac not collected lie costs that no one calculates. An unpaid debt is too often treated as a simple loss of profit, whereas it actually generates a cascade of invisible losses that accumulate.<\/p>

In this article, we will give you the exact formula to calculate the true cost of your unpaid invoices, with a numerical example so that you finally know what you are really losing.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

1. The 4 factors that explode the true cost of a bad debt<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

The gross uncollected amount: what you see<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

This is the only figure that most establishments look at. It is the outstanding patient co-payment, i.e. the portion not covered by social security or the supplementary insurance. This amount varies depending on the procedures and specialities, from visceral surgery to orthopaedics, urology and others.<\/p>

It appears directly in your accounts, giving it the appearance of a full figure. Yet, it only represents the visible part of your outstanding payments, and the actual amount you're losing is unfortunately much higher.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Secretarial time: the invisible cost of follow-ups<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Behind every unpaid invoice, secretarial staff spend hours of invisible work between phone calls, registered letters, email reminders, and tracking in the management software. This is a repetitive and time-consuming task that ties up teams with low added-value actions, when they could be dedicating that time to better patient follow-up.<\/p>

On average, managing an unpaid invoice represents between 30 minutes and 2 hours of cumulative work per case, depending on the number of attempts required. If we take the example of a secretary paid at \u20ac12.50 gross\/hour, then 2 hours of dunning already represent \u20ac25 added to our bill.<\/p>

This cost doesn't appear anywhere on your dashboards as it's buried within payroll. However, it's very real.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Debt collection costs: agency or bailiff<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

You know this better than we do: despite the time and effort put in by the administrative teams, some patients do not pay. When internal reminders are no longer sufficient, the organisation can engage a debt collection agency, which typically charges a commission of 15 % of the amounts recovered (ranging from 10 to 20 % depending on the provider).<\/p>

Other healthcare providers use a bailiff, whose fees generally amount to between 10 and 20 % of the amount claimed. For an outstanding debt of \u20ac200, this amounts to around \u20ac30 in additional costs to be borne. Not to mention the time spent by the practitioner and the administrative staff on compiling the file, signing letters and handling the back-and-forth correspondence.<\/p>

Beyond the financial cost, there's a cost that is too rarely mentioned. A recovery procedure can permanently damage the relationship with a patient and harm your establishment's local reputation. This damage is difficult to quantify, but it is very real.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

Opportunity cost: lost niches<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

This is the most abstract, but often the most important, factor. A patient who takes up a slot and doesn't pay is another paying patient who couldn't be seen at that same time.<\/p>

Let's take a concrete example: if a practitioner charges \u20ac70 for a 30-minute slot, this missed slot represents \u20ac70 in revenue that is definitively lost. Unlike an unpaid bill, which can sometimes be recovered, time can never be made up.<\/p>

In high-demand specialities such as dermatology, ophthalmology or orthodontics, every lost appointment slot holds even greater value because waiting times are already long for your patients. What you lose, therefore, is not only revenue but also a patient who could have been treated that day.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t

2. The formula: calculate your actual bad debt cost<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Now that you know the four factors we've just discussed, here's how to combine them into a single calculation.<\/p>

This is not an abstract equation but a concrete tool that you can apply in your establishment to obtain the real cost.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t