What term describes the total of all patient accounts?

What term describes the total of all patient accounts?

• A. Accounts Receivable
• B. Accounts Payable
• C. Patient Ledger
• D. Billing Balance

Answer: (A)

The main idea is the money a healthcare practice is waiting to receive after services are provided. That total of all patient accounts—charges billed to patients and third-party payers that haven’t yet been collected—is called accounts receivable. This term captures the overall outstanding balance across all patients, not just a single record. In contrast, accounts payable is what the practice owes to others, the patient ledger is the detailed record for an individual patient, and billing balance isn’t a standard term in typical medical office terminology. So the best fit for the total outstanding from all patient accounts is accounts receivable.

The main idea is the money a healthcare practice is waiting to receive after services are provided. That total of all patient accounts—charges billed to patients and third-party payers that haven’t yet been collected—is called accounts receivable. This term captures the overall outstanding balance across all patients, not just a single record. In contrast, accounts payable is what the practice owes to others, the patient ledger is the detailed record for an individual patient, and billing balance isn’t a standard term in typical medical office terminology. So the best fit for the total outstanding from all patient accounts is accounts receivable.