The following is a guest article by Pete Heydt, President at Patient Pay
Ninety-five percent of healthcare leaders expect outpatient volumes to increase, with many anticipating increases of 10% or more this year, a recent survey found. However, capitalizing on increased activity demands that leaders streamline their operations—including around patient financial engagement and payment—so they can make the investments needed to set themselves apart from the competition.
For example, as outpatient services such as infusions outpace projections, and as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services open the door to more outpatient procedures by moving 11 procedures off its “inpatient only” list, ambulatory providers must have the financial strength to make the investments needed to support growth. They must also think carefully about what it takes to deliver an outstanding patient experience—including digitally—in a post-COVID world, where consumers expect digital access and support at each stage of their care journey.
But while this is good news for ambulatory care providers, these facilities also face increased operating costs ranging from supply chain expenses to rising labor costs, just as hospitals do. They also face tough competition for talent at a time when most are seeking to hire more advanced practitioners to handle the demand for outpatient care. Without a strong financial base, these facilities will struggle to meet their goals for service delivery, experience, and growth.
More and more, healthcare leaders are looking to revenue cycle to be part of the solution.
Revenue Cycle Strategy Elevates in Importance
Today, three out of four healthcare leaders expect to increase hiring in revenue cycle to support organizational growth and strategy, the survey indicates. They are also reevaluating their approach to digital connectivity, especially when it comes to strengthening consumer engagement and operational efficiency.
Revenue cycle management—starting with patient financial engagement—can be a key enabler of success for ambulatory providers. At a time when these organizations face increased pressures around reimbursement, finding the right opportunities to drive payment helps position an organization for innovation and growth. It also increases cash flow and bolsters an organization’s bottom line, which in turn enables the organization to devote greater resources toward providing high-quality care and a more personalized patient experience.
But finding the right approach is key. With outpatient volumes expected to grow 16% over the next decade—and ambulatory volumes projected to rise 25% by 2022—ambulatory providers can’t afford to leave patient financial engagement to chance. Deploying the right mix of consumer communication, education, and options for payment without putting extra stress on staff will be essential to turn increased ambulatory volumes into a financial strength.
Making the Right Revenue Cycle Moves
As the shift toward outpatient visits gains speed, how can ambulatory centers make the right connections to support self-pay collections while protecting the patient’s financial experience? Here are four tactics to consider.
Challenge Your Vendor to Collect More Payments
Many ambulatory providers outsource multiple revenue cycle responsibilities, including self-pay collections, due to challenges such as rising patient financial responsibilities and difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified revenue cycle staff, a KLAS survey found. But if your organization hasn’t increased cash collections despite outsourcing this function, or if the results feel lackluster, it’s time to take a fresh look at this partnership and determine whether you’re receiving the right support. The ideal partner will demonstrate an upward trend in cash collections over time while protecting the patient’s financial experience, knowing how important both aspects are in protecting your organization’s ability to provide high-quality care and service. Look at key performance indicators such as the percentage of self-pay patients who make a payment and the total amount collected and compare these numbers year over year. This will enable you to assess how well the vendor engages patients in their financial responsibility for care.
Take a Digital-First Approach to Bill Notification
One of the biggest stumbling blocks to cash flow in ambulatory centers is paper-based billing statements, which can take three weeks or more for patients to receive once insurance has paid its portion for care. Text-based bill notification changes the game by enabling providers to notify consumers of their out-of-pocket cost for care as soon as the patient balance is generated. From there, payment can be executed within minutes from the device individuals use most—their smartphone—using a secure link that takes patients directly to their bill, without the need to sign into a patient portal. Text-based bill payment not only appeals to consumers’ desire for a digital healthcare payment experience but also helps drive faster cash collections for ambulatory centers. For one outpatient services center, a combination of digital payment offerings and support helps the center collect 40% of electronic payments within the first eight days of bill notification, before a paper statement drops.
One key to success: Make sure staff at all levels are aware of the move to text-based bill notification and payment so they can help communicate this option to patients and answer questions as they arise. Digital communications should also have a branded look, just as paper-based statements do.
Lean into an Evidence-Based Cadence for Communications
There is a science to communicating with patients about their financial responsibility for care—one that incorporates data such as the patient’s past history of medical payment, how likely they are to respond to a particular form of communication, like digital versus paper, and how quickly. Leading ambulatory providers leverage this information to determine how to initiate communication with a patient and the cadence for follow-up. For instance, when the data suggests that the likelihood of patient payment is low, a provider may decide to avoid the expense of sending multiple paper statements or digital texts. Avoiding digital fatigue is also an important consideration. It’s one reason why some providers choose to wait seven days after a text-based payment notification is delivered before sending a reminder. Some providers also send a paper-based statement at that point to get a feel for patient preferences; then, they use the information regarding the patient’s response to determine how to communicate with that patient in the future.
Provide Self-Service Options for Account Management
One of the biggest reasons for the shift in services to outpatient settings is the cost: for payers, employers, and consumers. Medical care prices may have grown at their slowest rate in decades in the past year, but consumers still feel the pinch, with many dipping into savings to pay their medical bills. That’s one reason why self-service options for account management are critical. They offer a private way for patients to navigate their healthcare expenses so they may determine which options for payment best meet their needs. Increasingly, providers are adopting a variety of flexible payment options that give consumers greater confidence in managing their healthcare costs. At Central Nebraska Rehab, for example, patients can self-enroll in a payment plan directly through the provider’s text-to-pay solution. From there, text reminders let patients know three days in advance of when monthly payments are processed.
The Right Approach for Improved Revenue
As patients pay a larger portion of the cost of their care, having the right mechanisms in place to capture self-pay collections is crucial. By exploring ways to get more from the provider-vendor relationship and leverage tech-enabled tools to build engagement, ambulatory providers can accelerate cash flow to meet their goals.
