Will my insurance cover this? Wait, why do I owe so much? What’s my deductible again? Without a strategy in place to simplify the billing experience for patients, they ask these questions when they receive a bill from your practice. In fact, data shows that medical bills confuse 70 percent of consumers, with only nine percent able to define basic health insurance concepts such as “plan premium” or “out-of-pocket maximum.”1
Practical Improvements to Enhance the Patient Billing Experience
By putting a few changes in place, you can take control of the patient pay experience at your practice to boost patient satisfaction and increase revenue.
- Use patient-friendly language in statements: Review your statements from your patients’ points of view. Are the statements easily understandable, or are they filled with jargon? Writing statements with patient-friendly terminology helps patients know what they’re paying for and what they owe. Your billing staff will also spend less time answering phone calls from confused patients, freeing them up to focus on other important duties. Most of all, addressing patients’ financial concerns with empathy makes them more likely to return for more care in the future. With our Statements & Digital Engagement solution, we’ll partner with you to review your statements and ensure all financial language is clear and accessible.
- Offer multiple easy payment options: Patients prefer to manage payments on their terms. Make patient pay as convenient as possible by offering a variety of methods for submitting payment, including a patient portal, call center, text-to-pay options, and branded emails. Further maximize the patient experience by leaning on PatientFocus for insight into standing up customized patient outreach cadences and self-serve options.
- Provide 24/7 access to billing details: While some patients find “point-and-click” bill pay easy, some may experience technical roadblocks or have questions about their bill – and those questions can arise at any time, day or night, depending on the patients’ schedule. Leverage our team of domestic, bilingual billing experts to help patients access their account and navigate the billing process 24/7.
- Respond with empathy and speed: Patients today shoulder a large portion of healthcare expenses. That leads to financial stress in addition to any stress they may already feel over a health condition. Your billing team plays a crucial role in ensuring patients have a positive and efficient experience with patient payment. Make sure they lead with empathy by acknowledging these challenges with compassion, support, and efficiency.
While focused on patient billing nuances at the surface, these concrete actions drive revenue by eliminating clunky billing processes and poor communication that discourage timely payments. Invest in a comprehensive patient financial engagement solution with a partner like PatientFocus to reimagine your patient pay approach and ensure a smooth financial experience for each patient who walks through your door. Together, we can turn frustrated patients into satisfied patients and delayed payments into consistent cash flows.
Ready to transform your patient pay services? Contact us to learn how a few simple updates to your billing infrastructure can enhance patient satisfaction and drive increased revenue.
Source:
- A Great Patient Payment Experience Is Not That Simple – InstaMed. (2018, June 6). InstaMed. https://www.instamed.com/blog/a-great-patient-payment-experience/