Shift Agents · Patient Balances

AI patient balance collection that checks the bill before it asks for payment.

The Patient Balances Agent checks every balance against the EOB before any outreach, holds statements that aren’t the patient’s to pay, answers billing calls and texts, and collects by secure text link, with payment plans when patients need them.

● Shift Agents · RCM 62 days old

Robert K. · $1,180 balance

  1. Patient Balances Agent

    $1,180, 62 days old.

    Reading the EOB before any outreach…

    Secondary coverage on file, never billed.

    Held: this isn’t Robert’s to pay yet.

  2. Denial Management Agent

    Billing the secondary, primary EOB attached…

    Paid 12 days later.

    Secondary paid $944.

  3. Patient Balances Agent

    $236 left: Robert’s coinsurance.

    Offered 3 payments by text…

    Robert: “Yes, set it up.”

    Memory: Robert prefers texts, and has used a payment plan before.

    Plan set. First payment in.

What it does

What it does before, and after, it asks

Checks the bill

Against the EOB, before any outreach.

Holds wrong statements

When the balance isn’t the patient’s to pay.

Answers billing calls

“Why do I owe this?”, answered from the claim.

Collects

By secure text link, never read over the phone.

Payment plans

Offered when a patient needs one.

Where it works

One agent, two places it saves you money.

The line it won’t cross

Consent first, every time.

Consent and TCPA rules gate every outbound contact; PCI rules govern how payment is collected.

No texts without consent or outside allowed hours, and payment details are never taken over the phone.

See every agent’s guardrails →

How it connects

Works inside the systems you already run.

Your EHR / PM

Reads and writes in the systems your team already uses.

  • athenahealth
  • NextGen
  • AdvancedMD
  • eClinicalWorks
  • Greenway
  • ModMed
  • SIS

Patient channels

Calls, texts and email, with secure payment links.

  • Voice
  • Messaging
  • Email

Remittances

EOBs read before any outreach.

  • EDI 835
All channels and integrations →
~13.5% of AR sits past 90 days at the median practice. Source: MGMA. Cited industry benchmark, not a Shift claim.

Questions

Patient Balances Agent, answered.

Can it take payments?

Yes. It answers billing calls and texts, and collects by secure text link. Payment details are never read over the phone.

How does it avoid billing patients for the wrong amount?

It reads the EOB before any outreach. If the balance belongs to a secondary plan or the claim was processed wrong, the statement is held while it’s fixed.

Does it follow texting rules?

Yes. Consent and TCPA rules gate every outbound message, and nothing goes out outside allowed hours.

Does it work with our EHR?

It works with athenahealth, NextGen, AdvancedMD, eClinicalWorks, Greenway, ModMed and SIS, using APIs where they exist and Browser Agents where they don’t.

How is patient data protected?

Every customer gets a BAA, data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and each agent sees only what its task needs. Every action is logged with its reason.

Works alongside

See the Patient Balances Agent work a week like yours.

20 minutes, with Lance Rodela, founder.