A Conversation with Katrina Hammons, Finance Manager at Conceptions
In today's conversation, we take you through working with the Finance department at Conceptions Reproductive Associates of Colorado. You'll learn what Katrina Hammons, the department manager does and what the patient journey typically looks like.
What is your role at Conceptions?
I manage the business office and do some finance management. I’ve been here for 8 years.
Why did you join this industry? What have you learned from your experiences?
I joined Conceptions because it was an opportunity to learn different aspects of the healthcare industry as I come from the primary care side. This was an avenue that I had not been involved in so to learn what Conceptions does here has been an incredible experience, helping our clients achieve their family goals. It's been very rewarding in that regard.
Future Family and Conceptions have been longtime partners, why do you think our partnership is so successful?
When we were approached by Future Family, we really liked the ease of how everything works for our patients and for our team.
You are one of the easiest companies when it comes to getting patients what they need, when they need it. It’s absolutely seamless. And I love that patients have support from Future Family, so they can call, apply and you all know exactly what they are going through.
What makes Conceptions stand out from other clinics in the Colorado area?
Our pregnancy rate is the #1 standout. We’re not just a run of the mill IVF clinic, trying to get patients in and get them out. We try to make patient experience–as hard and overwhelming as it can be– we try to make it as transparent as possible.
How do your patients find your clinic before their first appointment?
We have a lot of OBGYN offices that refer patients to us, word of mouth. It’s also just googling for pricing. So that transparency on our website is super important.
What does the patient journey look like? How long does the process take from first appointment to first treatment plan?
A new patient will call the office and go through our new patient schedulers. It’s actually a lot more than just putting an appointment in the system. They fill out some paperwork, they share insurance information if that applies, we get their records from their OBGYN office or other treatment centers, so that we have that prior to their first appointment. Then they meet with the physician.
Then the doctor figures out what testing may be needed for them. At that point, you're looking at a treatment plan. It could be anywhere from 2-6 months, depending on the treatment option.
How do you consult with patients when it comes to payment options?
So when they're initially set up with a treatment plan, the business office is then notified to reach out to the patient regarding what that payment looks like. They are also informing them about different ways to finance it. Future Family is the first one that we list because you guys are so easy to work with.
What are the pros of financing a treatment through Future Family?
Your interest rates are lower than credit cards.. You pay with Visa, but you can’t call Visa to understand how to pay for medication. You have the backing from Future Family if there’s confusion about who’s paying what, how it’s getting paid, whether it’s the doctor or the pharmacy. There’s so many different aspects of IVF. Future Family understands all that, whereas a credit card, you’re kind of stuck.
When is the best time for patients to seek funding for fertility treatment? Seasoned patients who have already gone through this process are already going to know what they need to do to plan for this process. This is not their first rodeo. Then there’s the patient who has never done this before. They have been trying to get pregnant and their OBGYN tells them to go and get help figuring out what’s going on. So that’s when we’re there to guide them. They may say ‘Oh my gosh, there’s no way I can afford this!’ Then we can talk them through their options, let them know there's no harm in seeing if you qualify.
How does your team refer someone to the Future Family?
So if a patient is starting a cycle and we have a treatment plan, we have all the information in email. And if a new patient just contacts the business office right off the bat for information, that link for Future Family is in the email as well. So we do everything we can from our business office to get that point across.
Learn More about Conceptions Reproductive Associates of Colorado
We hope that you learned something about Katrina and Conceptions Reproductive Associates of Colorado and its finance department. Katrina is a great resource for anyone looking for more information about the world of fertility financing, so be sure to reach out if you have any questions. Check out their available packages, including Future Family here.
Get Pre-Approved with Future Family in under 2 mins
If you’re interested in pursuing a fertility loan to seek treatments with clinics such as Conceptions, use our prequalify tool today. Applicants can be pre-approved in 90 seconds, and this process does not impact your credit score.