Healthcare providers have always had trouble collecting payments from patients. One reason for this is that patients feel less obligated to pay providers when they are not given estimates of the costs for their care ahead of time. To make matters worse, those patients that are willing to make payments often do not have the right payment method offered to them, which makes it inconvenient for them to make payments.
Moreover, if providers do not help patients connect the quality of the care they receive with the financial responsibility they will have to take on to receive that care, the chances of getting payment for the treatment are slim to none. There are a number of ways, however, that healthcare providers can improve patient payment frequency and reliability from leveraging automated payments to providing flexible payment options.
Here are 4 Useful Ways to Improve Patient Payments without Needing to Use Additional Resources:
Provide Flexibility in Payment Options
According to a McKinsey study, 1 in 5 consumers will pay their bills using different payment methods from month to month. This data suggests that consumers will make payments according to what happens to be a convenient avenue at the time. By not offering this flexibility in payment options, you are turning away customers who expect a high level of accessibility and convenience that they have become used to in other industries.
Healthcare billing needs to take on an omnichannel approach by offering a multitude of payment options for patients to cover their balances. Being able to pay using a method that is convenient to them will increase patient satisfaction as well as drive greater payment collections for your practice.
Discuss Patient Responsibility with Patients Ahead of Time
Large medical bills should not come as a surprise to your patients. According to studies, 91% of patients want to know their financial responsibility for payments prior to a visit. Healthcare providers can encourage their staff to offer patients a breakdown and estimate of their payment responsibility during or before their visit so that they know what they are signing up for ahead of time. When healthcare practices set payment expectations, not only will it increase trust in the provider, but it will also improve their patient experience, and assist billing services to more effectively collect payments.
Place an Emphasis on Efficient Payment Channels
Along with providing multiple payment methods, healthcare practices also need to be mindful of promoting more efficient channels like automated phone payments or online banking, instead of needing to cash in cheques.
These payment methods allow for healthcare providers to collect payments with minimum resources and staff intervention, which means that they can spend less time on follow-up calls and data entry – thereby keeping costs low. By providing URLs to promote online payments or including instructions on how to sign up for eStatements on the bill itself, healthcare providers can cut costs and benefit from increased collections.
Read Also Patient Collections: Strategies for Success
Leverage Automated Payments to Improve Collections Efforts
Automated payments allow healthcare providers to receive payments on a regular basis, with little to no patient or staff intervention whatsoever. Once a payment method is saved, patients can easily set up automatic payments to cover future balances so that payments are received on time, every time, using their preferred payment method.
This reduces mailing and printing costs and allows patients to conveniently cover their bills responsibly without needing to remember the due date or access their online banking for every transaction. Patients with high deductibles can also pay off their balance over time using this convenient method. No follow-up calls with the patient are required as recurring payments are handled by the automated system as and when needed.
Are reliable and frequent patient payments evading your practice? We, at OutsourceRCM, can help you monitor, track, and collect payments for your medical services in record time. Because we understand how difficult and daunting payment collections can be, our medical billing experts leverage cutting-edge technology and industry expertise to ensure that regular payments are made on time and in full so that balances do not reach collections or get written off as bad debt. If you are looking to get some help in this process, simply contact the professionals at OutsourceRCM.com.
