Patient financial engagement is a critical part of the overall patient experience, and it’s important to develop strategies that will engage patients early on. A recent study showed that providers have a 70% chance of receiving payment pre-service or at the time of service if they request it, but only a 30% chance of collecting on a balance post-service.
There are a variety of digital-first strategies that healthcare organizations can deploy to achieve these goals: secure text-to-collect, patient portal adoption, and phone support are among the most effective. By developing an individualized, highly digital patient financial experience, you’ll be well on your way to driving financial engagement and optimizing revenue cycle management.
Digital-First Payment Strategies
Requesting payment pre-service or at the time of service is the most effective way to collect on a balance. Not only does this get cash in the door faster, but this also allows for proper communication between the patient and the provider in advance of services so there are no unexpected surprises. Let’s take a look at a few digital-first financial engagement options that appeal to patients.
Patient Portal Adoption
Healthcare organizations can encourage patient portal adoption to drive financial engagement. By providing patients with a self-service portal, they can:
- View consolidated bills in one view
- Make secure payments on patient or guarantor balances as early as pre-service
- Choose from a variety of preferred payment methods
- Update contact information
- Access their account 24/7
Secure Text-to-Collect
This touch-free payment option allows you to engage with patients at any point in their care journey. Provider organizations find the most success when initiating this during pre-service. By integrating with any estimation tool, you can allow patients to see their estimate and make a payment directly from the patient portal.
Providers can either post when an event is scheduled or hold to post so reconciliation is simple and automatic.
Read More: See how HealthPay24’s Text-to-Collect feature works in our short video!
Interactive Phone Support
Many industries utilize interactive voice response (IVR) as a way to financially engage consumers. Available 24/7, this payment option gives patients control over how and when they pay.
Not only does IVR offer a convenient, self-service way for patients to pay healthcare bills, but it also significantly reduces the number of incoming calls to your organization.
Patient Financial Engagement Made Easy
It’s crucial to communicate with patients about their financial responsibility prior to their visit. This has an obvious benefit to providers – it increases the likelihood of on-time payments.
This allows patients to budget for services and show up to their appointments prepared to pay. Combining this with convenient healthcare payment technologies can drive more timely and consistent cash liquidity. On-time payments can also lead to reduced administrative costs, as collections will take less time for your staff and third parties.
Give your patients a self-service experience with all the information and tools they need to make a payment, set up a payment plan, or initiate financing, allowing for financial peace of mind for them and improved operational efficiency for you.
Contact us today to learn more about our enhanced patient engagement solutions.