Adam Lueken
In the past, many providers have depended more on insurance companies for revenue rather than direct patient billing. However in healthcare today, a larger focus on patient collections and their billing experiences has become something to consider. When patients find their healthcare billing frustrating and challenging, they often take longer to provide payment.
In general, a more patient-centered approach has become prominent in many aspects of practicing today, such as care management, marketing, patient engagement and more. Patients are now used to convenient, digital experiences, and will often leave a trusted company or brand (or healthcare provider) for another that can offer a better experience.
Like any other healthcare provider, you need to deliver convenient, positive experiences to keep patients coming back. For your billing processes specifically, how can you achieve this? Here are a few things to consider.
Educate Your Patients
Many patients may not fully understand all aspects of their bill or financial options, so if you’re able to give them a better understanding, they’ll likely have higher satisfaction with their visits and feel more in control of their financial responsibilities. This can happen in-office, with simply explaining their balance in a way they understand, what they owe and why, whether this is owed in advance of care (with an estimate) or following care, what financial options for payment they have and what may be best for their situation. Also, be available and able to answer their questions effectively. Working with them with payments instead of just handing out bills can result in increased patient loyalty and improved collections on your end. If you do offer a patient portal online, you can have payment education resources available there too for easy access.
Utilize a Virtual Portal with Payment Options
Portals that are accessible online can help your patients easily make payments, manage their accounts and set up payment options. With today’s patients, convenience and accessibility is more important than ever. As with their appointments and care, they want account management at their fingertips 24/7 without having to call or visit your practice. They can pay bills for multiple services and procedures at once instantly and electronically – as they do with online retail, food and service websites. This is especially true now, with so many still feeling the financial and lifestyle toll of the pandemic.
Track Patient-Centered Metrics
You may be tracking more system-centric stats like net collection ratio, claims denial rate and time needed to collect (which are all valuable). But if you’re not already, you may consider also keeping an eye on other patient-centered metrics such as patient satisfaction, self-serve payments, online patient portal usage and online payment rates. And looking beyond online metrics for added knowledge, you can also establish other metrics like call wait times, phone calls received, call abandonment rate and number of days for appointment scheduling.
If creating a more patient-centered billing process is something you need support with, we’d love to talk. Schedule a consultation with one of our practice management experts today!