Increasingly, revenue cycle health now requires meeting patients halfway or more, with convenience and access at the center.
A healthy revenue cycle can’t stay healthy for long without a strong collections process, and collections can’t stay strong unless there’s money to collect. That means health systems are increasingly behaving like brands, seeking to attract patients — and their pocketbooks.
Nowadays, attracting patients means taking a more consumer-focused approach to care delivery, which generally requires providers to offer some of the little things found in the retail industry, like convenience and mobile access to scheduling and bill paying. Bells and whistles, once luxuries, have become a necessity.
Convenience can come in many forms; telehealth, retail clinics and online bill pay options all qualify. And the push to offer these amenities may intensify in the wake of recent findings from NRC Health and CHRISTUS Health: Convenience is now the number one factor that influences which provider a consumer will select for their care.
