The following is a guest article by Blake Walker, CEO at Inbox Health.
The dreaded healthcare bill: patients’ anxiety rises the second it lands in their mailbox or inbox, and practices find the process of managing patient billing arduous. The feeling is mutual, but the responsibility is on practices and billing teams to find a solution. As patients take on a greater share of healthcare costs, they are also more selective of the providers they choose. With this shift, patient billing becomes a potentially more contentious point in the care delivery process. If billing is not managed empathetically, the practice risks damaging the patient-provider relationship.
Patient-first billing must be top of mind for medical practices to remain viable long term. Patient billing is an extension of patient care, and the benefits significantly impact practices financially. The emergence of new technologies in patient billing combined with empathetic front office staff drives operational efficiency, increases revenue, saves time, and improves patient retention. Here are ways to ease the burden of the billing and payment process – for both patients and practices.
Train your front desk to communicate confidently. An organized front desk builds trust and loyalty with patients. Invest in staff training to equip your front desk to answer questions around how billing codes translate into dollar amount owed, why certain visits cost more or less than others, and how to navigate insurance coverage. Patients are comfortable paying their bills when confidence emanates from the front desk. Being able to resolve confusion at the point of service results in faster patient collection speeds.
Deliver easy-to-understand statements. The importance of your patient statement design is not to be overlooked. Any ambiguity makes patients hesitant to pay. The best digital and paper statements go beyond showing what the patient owes, but also clearly explain why the patient owes it. Patients need to be confident their provider did all he could to obtain reimbursement from their insurance and understand that their remaining balance is the result of a deductible or coinsurance. Additionally, look for the ability to add custom messaging on statements. This may include a note about deductibles or an additional clarification on the service provided. By providing clear statements, practices also receive fewer patient phone calls, allowing staff to focus on other imminent tasks.
Adopt digital statements and payments. Meet patients where they are – on their phones and laptops. According to a recent report, 57 percent of patients see fast and easy digital payments as an important part of their healthcare experience. Today’s technologies make it easy for practices to adopt too. Inbox Health’s platform, for example, reaches patients on the right channel (email, text, or paper statement), with the right message, at the right time, adapting and automating follow-up communications based on how the patient interacts with previous messages. Practices and billing teams have the ability to set the terms (e.g., send a text reminder after seven days), then the platform gets to work and payments arrive quickly. Limit barriers to payment by accepting secure credit card, Apple Pay, and ACH payments. According to Inbox Health data, 96 percent to 99 percent of patients choose to continue receiving their bills and make payments digitally.
Offer payment plans. Healthcare costs are at an all-time high, and many patients may need financing to pay their bill. In these situations, the sooner a patient can start a payment plan, the better for both parties. These conversations are sensitive, and patients may be uncomfortable discussing personal finances with a practice’s front desk. Consider technologies that make it easy to set up recurring payments directly in the patient portal. Though unspoken, this provides a level of empathy that also boosts collections for a practice. According to one survey on healthcare payment plans, 90.7 percent of respondents said they can pay off their payment plans in full, either early or by following the plan’s schedule, and 89.8 percent of patients would be interested in using payment plans in the future.
Provide enhanced support. When patients have questions about their medical bills, offer support over a variety of communication channels like live chat, text, email, or IVR. Not all inquiries require attention from your staff. Common questions, such as updating insurance information, balance inquiries, and payment plans, can be answered quickly over digital channels. These forms of communication fit into patients’ busy lifestyles and reduce phone call volume in the office, so practices are able to provide their full attention to the care of the patient in front of them and operate more efficiently.
About Blake Walker
Blake is obsessed with how people experience the world. He started Inbox Health out of his own frustration paying medical bills, and saw it immediately as an experience problem that needed fixing. He’s passionate about design and technology and is constantly seeking out new ways to solve problems combining the two. When he is not working on Inbox Health’s next project, he’s spending time with his two kids, wife, and bulldog Gus.
