A patient has repeatedly failed to pay their outstanding balance for medical services rendered. Having followed the office's set protocols for attempting to collect the debt, you are preparing to send the account to a collections agency. Which of the following steps should be taken before submitting the account to the collections agency to ensure adherence to standard collection practices?
Contact the patient's family members to request they assume responsibility for the payment.
Inform each member of the healthcare team dealing with the patient to encourage payment at their next appointment.
Withhold the patient's medical records until they have cleared their outstanding balance.
Send the patient a final notice informing them of the intent to forward their account to a collections agency.