Historically, most practices were geared toward government and commercial payers for the majority of their collections. However, the shift to greater patient financial responsibility has increased the resources needed in order to collect the money owed to you. Research indicates that many patients prefer to go paperless (eStatements/ePayments) when it comes to their healthcare bills. If medical practices want to increase their receivables then they must adjust to focus on patient collections by providing a fast, efficient way to bill and collect patient balances.
Many patients currently pay most of their bills e.g. mortgage, car payment and credit card online so they are very familiar with this process. Yet, much of the healthcare industry lags behind and still sends paper statements. Paper statements tend to land in the ‘to-do’ pile. If the healthcare statement also arrives in their inbox, they are more inclined to include it when they make all of their online payments. This results in you getting more timely payments.
Increasing collections and cash flow are two huge incentives for practices to go paperless but there are other incentives, as well. Modernizing the payment process by providing secure, convenient payment options also helps to further cement your relationship with your patients. Patient satisfaction is multi-faceted. You work hard to give quality care, hire customer-oriented staff and create a pleasant office environment. So, don’t forget to shift to revenue cycle management processes that add to patient satisfaction. Utilizing paperless billing statements and a variety of payment options allows patients to choose what works best for them. Simply adding eStatements/ePayments helps ease the process for patients and providers.
At Onpoint Medical Solutions, our collection process includes sending statements, letters and calling the patients who still have not paid their balance. This results in delayed payment and sometimes no payment at all. Our experience is completely different for those practices that utilize eStatements/ePayments. We have actually received payment within hours of a patient receiving an eStatement. Why? Because they can pay the bill directly from their phones. There is no delay and it doesn’t get pushed to the side to do later. True, eStatements/ePayments may not be for every patient but at Onpoint we find that more and more patients are requesting text and email notifications and prefer paying by phone or via an online portal.
Contact Onpoint Medical Solutions to learn how you can take the hassle out of patient billing through eStatements/ePayments. It really works!