Innovative Enhancements Can Maximize Revenue

Innovative Enhancements Can Maximize Revenue

We see it all the time, a patient visits their doctor’s office to seek treatment and then receives a bill in the mail for their portion of the medical expenses.  When a patient receives the bill, they are often alarmed at the amount that is due and may not have the funding to pay the balance in full.  In a recent study conducted by UCLA, it is estimated that there is $140 billion in medical debt that has been reported on credit reports (VeryWellHealth, 2021).  In fact, this research study found that one in every five consumers was already in collections prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As cases of COVID-19 increased in 2020, many consumers feared visiting their doctor’s office that they avoided their routine office visits, and/or lost their employment further impacting a patient’s ability to pay for any medical expenses.  As providers continued to keep their offices open, many providers witnessed a decrease in patient volume while also seeing a reduction in revenue.  According to a recent article published in Medical Economics (2021), 55% of practices were impacted by a decrease in revenue while 60% were impacted by a decrease in overall patient volume.  Combined with the number of patients that were already in medical debt and/or collections, many practices faced a financial crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to become more stable in early 2021, many patients felt comfortable returning to visit their doctor and/or were able to secure employment, providing patients with employer-sponsored insurance coverage. With the current rise of COVID-19 cases increasing again, practices are left with the ongoing challenges of attempting to maximize revenue collection with the risk of history repeating itself and the patient’s inability to pay their medical bills or avoiding their office visits.

Contrary to belief, consumers actually want to pay their medical bills and are seeking more payment options.  According to the 2020 Trends in Healthcare Annual Report, providers and consumers must adapt to a new payment experience in order to enhance how they interact with one another. In addition, more than half of consumers would consider changing their provider for a better payment experience.  One may ask, what constitutes a better payment experience?  Consumers are showing a higher demand for contactless payments and the ability to work with their providers to create a payment plan or auto-payment options. Unfortunately, many providers have not adapted to their consumer’s needs and continue to operate with traditional methods creating dissatisfaction amongst their consumers

How can providers change their operations to facilitate a more consumer-friendly experience for their patients? Front-office staff play a pivotal role when interacting with patients and should be collecting up-to-date contact information to ensure patients are communicated with effectively, have the most recent insurance data to avoid any processing delays, and should collect a patient’s consent ahead of time for new features such as eBills, texting, and payment preferences.  EZ Claim customers can streamline their revenue collection opportunities by partnering with BillFlash for innovative billing opportunities and various payment collection features that consumers highly desire.  While nobody can predict if this recent wave of COVID-19 cases will lead to another quarantine phase or not, it is important for providers and consumers to enhance how they interact with one another to create solutions for healthcare needs.


For more information about automated patient statements and patient payment options, contact EZClaim, NexTrust BillFlash, GetPaid@BillFlash.com, or call BillFlash at 435.940.9123 (Option 3). For more details about EZClaim’s medical billing software, visit their website, e-mail their support team, or call them at 877.650.0904.


Resources

Hui, K. (2021).  Americans owe $140 billion in medical debt. Here’s how to avoid it.  Very Well Health. Retrieved from https://www.verywellhealth.com/medical-debt-medicaid-study-5194846

InstaMed (2021).  The Trends in Healthcare Payments (11th Annual Report) 2020.  Retrieved from https://www.instamed.com/white-papers/trends-in-healthcare-payments-annual-report/

Luz, M. (2021).  How an effective revenue cycle management strategy can help reduce burnout.  Medical Economics.  Retrieved from https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/how-an-effective-revenue-cycle-management-strategy-can-help-reduce-burnout

 

Connecting with Patients Early is Formula for Success

Connecting with Patients Early is Formula for Success

There is no surprise that the cost of healthcare continues to rise creating financial hardships not only for patients but for physicians as well.  While the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted how patients interacted with their physician’s office, it is important to understand that patients want to be financially responsible for their medical bills and have preferences on communication methods to increase revenue.

In order to improve the overall patient experience and collection of revenue, it is important for physician offices to truly understand the demographics of their patients and the differences amongst their generational behaviors.  Using a one-size-fits-all approach to communicate with patients is an outdated method and oftentimes leads to patient frustration, lack of engagement, poor retention, and missed opportunities to enhance revenue collection.

In a recent article published last month, physicians must adapt to the patient’s digital experience in order to enhance receiving payments for medical bills (Healthleaders, 2021).  Patients desire modern payment options such as a payment portal, mobile ability, texting capabilities, and/or scanning a QR code. In addition, 76% of healthcare consumers desired a contactless method that allowed them to view their statements online and make payments without the need to visit the doctor’s office.  According to (Healthleaders, 2021), the number one payment option patients desire is contactless debit and credit card options.  In addition, patients desire payment options to help them manage their medical expenses such as payment plans and/or auto-pay methods.

As a medical billing expert, EZClaim can help medical practices improve their revenue through their billing and scheduling software in conjunction with BillFlash, which provides contactless and modernized communication methods that patients highly desire.  Let EZClaim and BillFlash enhance the options to modernize your medical billing and communication systems.


ABOUT EZCLAIM:
As a medical billing expert, EZClaim can help the medical practice improve its revenues since it is a medical billing and scheduling software company. EZClaim provides a best-in-class product, with correspondingly exceptional service and support. Combined, EZClaim helps improve medical billing revenues. To learn more, visit EZClaim’s website, email them, or call them today at 877.650.0904.