The healthcare industry constantly evolves, and now it’s time to adapt technology tools that can help improve processes and raise the stakes of patient payments. However, according to the 2024 InstaMed Trends in Healthcare Payments Annual Report, data reveals a deep disconnect between the healthcare industry and consumers.
The report states that even as healthcare consumer costs grow higher, the industry has not fully embraced the online, self-service tools consumers want for their healthcare payments.
Healthcare payment trends provide evidence that patients are experiencing increasing financial burdens due to high deductibles, coinsurance amounts, and copayments.
According to the Statista Research Department, U.S. out-of-pocket healthcare payments in 2021 hit an all-time high of over 433 billion dollars. Health insurance out-of-pocket maximums have been increasing each year. The payment collection should evolve with the increased burden on patients to contribute to their medical bills.
Due to that, practices must be more proactive in their collections process to keep their revenue flowing. This proactive approach should include:
- Optimize your technology efforts to collect every dollar your practice has earned
- Maximize cash flow
- Optimize your workflows
- Deliver an outstanding patient experience
Here are some ways you can optimize your patient payment process with technology:
1. Integrate technology into medical billing and patient payments
Integrating medical billing with patient payments can bring enormous changes and smooth these two operations. This would help you automate your tasks, including generating invoices, processing payments, and updating your patients’ records in real time.
Second, clear and straightforward patient statements provide clarity to patients, helping them know what they owe and hence making the payment easy.
Being fully integrated will enable you to track your collection efforts more effectively, identify outstanding balances earlier, and quickly resolve any issues with payment problems to enhance cash flow and improve patient satisfaction.
2. Go digital with your statements
One of the most significant advantages of digital statements is that they bring a host of benefits for both patients and healthcare providers. Patients love convenience, taking bills via electronic modalities. On the other hand, digital statements remove some of the hassles associated with traditional paper statements, such as wrong addresses and delays caused by postal delivery.
Also, printing and mailing paper statements does take a lot of time and only adds to superfluous expenses in your practice. Digital statements save you on overhead and significantly increase the possibility of getting paid quickly. Patients can simply click and pay upon receiving their electronic statement via email or text.
3. Leverage technology to offer digital patient payment options
According to the 2024 InstaMed Trends in Healthcare Payments Annual Report, 75% of consumers want to pay medical bills online.
Various digital payment options, such as credit card, debit card, or electronic funds transfer (EFT), accommodate patients’ preferences and enhance the overall payment experience.
Implementing a patient payment portal gives patients transparency and control over their healthcare bills. It allows them to track payment status, set up payment plans, or securely store payment information for future transactions.
4. Condensed your Revenue Cycle
Technology can greatly improve your revenue cycle by significantly reducing it. Automating the big processes will drive efficiency and speed, hence a shortened revenue cycle for your practice. Automating activities like eligibility verification, prior authorization, claims status tracking, and denials management streamlines administrative workflows and hugely reduces manual errors while speeding up reimbursement.
Apart from that, optimizing back-office processes yields efficiency, and staff are in a better position to resolve any probable issues promptly, which increases patient satisfaction and financial performance overall.
5. Automate your patient billing process
Patient billing automation saves time and significantly enhances your practice’s collection rates and cash flow. Using a platform that engages patients through the channel they prefer, you can smartly deliver statements via text, email, or mail, prompting timely payment.
Automation tools can still allow you to pay for something online and give you your delivery status. Thus, you can use them to gain insight into the revenue that may be generated, enabling your practice to manage patient collections and improve general financial performance.
At Health Prime, we can help!
At Health Prime, we understand the complexities of managing patient payments in today’s healthcare landscape. That’s why we offer comprehensive solutions to streamline your payment processes and optimize revenue cycles.
With our expertise in automating patient billing processes and leveraging technology to shorten revenue cycles, we can help your practice save time, reduce costs, and accelerate cash flow.
Learn more about incorporating technology into patient payment collections to increase revenue and optimize cash flow. Feel free to reach us at [email protected]. Our team will set up a meeting to discuss how Health Prime can maximize your revenue by cutting costs, saving time, and collecting more!
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