With health insurance deductibles now 47% higher than they were a decade ago, healthcare providers are increasingly challenged to extract profitability from their patient pay systems amidst growing financial pressures.1 Combined with rising daily living expenses patients are often compelled to deprioritize medical bills, leading to delayed payments and disrupted cash flow. By adopting a robust patient payment solution, providers can enhance billing efficiency, improve profitability, and stabilize cash flow, all while offering options that ease the financial burden on patients and ensure more effective collections.
#1 Patient Engagement Tools
It’s critical to adequately engage patients to ensure timely medical bill collections. PatientFocus’s omnichannel patient pay solutions enhance patient engagement through:
- Branded Statements: Customizable messaging with pre-determined discounts and payment plan options.
- Patient Portal: Offers 24/7 access online and via mobile, enabling patients to view their billing and payment history, schedule payments, or set up payment plans with ease.
- Text & Email: Digital reminders and click-to-pay options are synchronized with billing cycles to prompt timely payments, featuring branded, easy-to-understand communications.
- Responsive Call Center: A dedicated phone line with bilingual support, answering 83% of calls in under 30 seconds, ensuring patient inquiries are handled efficiently and effectively.
- IVR (Interactive Voice Response) System: A 24-7 automated phone system that allows patients to check their account balance and make payments via phone
#2 Flexible and Supportive Patient Payment Options
Understanding the financial pressures on patients, our patient pay solutions include flexible predetermined payment options and supportive follow-up to accommodate individual financial situations. This flexibility helps mitigate the impact of high deductibles by:
- Allowing patients to choose how and when they pay, reducing the stress associated with large medical bills.
- Offering installment plans that break down large bills into manageable amounts, making it easier for patients to meet their financial obligations without sacrificing necessary care.
- Unburdening office staff with follow-up on payment plans if cards expire or are denied by the bank to PatientFocus.
#3 Operational Improvements
Outsourcing your patient-pay billing to Patient Focus can significantly reduce overhead costs associated with recruiting and training, allowing your team to concentrate on maximizing insurance claims and other high-value activities. Our Full-Service Suite operational improvements include:
- Client Success Team: Monthly check-ins and strategic patient-pay goal setting with a Success Manager who understands your practice’s needs.
- Case Management: Our HIPAA-compliant tools streamline workflows, provide updates on found insurance, address corrections, and keep patient information current.
- Advanced Reporting: Our analytics tools offer actionable insights at both the practice and organizational levels, helping to refine strategies and improve overall billing efficiency.
Patient Focus’s white-label solutions are designed to manage patient payments efficiently, maintaining your brand integrity while enhancing patient trust. With our advanced tools and flexible payment options, we help you navigate the complexities of rising deductibles and improve your practice’s financial health. Ready to see how our tailored solutions can help you level your patient-pay cash flow? Schedule a consultation today to explore how we can meet the specific needs of your practice and your patients.
Sources
- Summary of Findings – 10480 | KFF. (2024, October 9). KFF. https://www.kff.org/report-section/ehbs-2024-summary-of-findings/