Are you ready to elevate your practice's patient financial experience? Explore 5 key strategies to boost your practice's payment processes.
From the moment a patient steps into a medical practice, they start forming an impression about the quality of their experience. The first reception sets the foundation for whatever will occur during that visit. However, many medical practices find it difficult to create the type of patient financial experience consumers hope to have.
A 2022 survey revealed that 75% of patients had an unpleasant patient experience during a span of three months. The fact that such important parameters are not improving or improving slowly underlines one of the many challenges patients and providers face.
The Role of Healthcare Consumerism in Patient Financial Experience
Healthcare consumerism plays a key role in the changing expectations of patients, who now demand higher quality care and more transparent pricing. This can add stress as patients navigate the often-complicated healthcare choices. They strive to achieve positive health outcomes while managing rising costs.
Patients who do not experience a positive healthcare experience that they are responsible for paying for will likely feel stressed and overwhelmed by the entire experience. This will likely result in more patients not paying on time or choosing a new provider. Healthcare providers must lead the necessary changes by implementing 5 actionable strategies to improve patient financial experience. By implementing these strategies, practices can streamline payments, reduce administrative burdens, and strengthen patient trust.
1. Provide Clear and Transparent Communication
Patients today are more financially conscious than ever. They want transparency, flexibility, and service that matches their experiences in other industries. So, when patients face unexpected bills, confusing statements, or frustrating payment processes, it can severely damage trust, delay timely payments, and even drive them to seek care somewhere else.
A primary source of frustration in patient financial experience is the inability to know the cost of services upfront. Patients often have procedures or receive treatments without understanding the expenses. This lack of price transparency makes it difficult to budget for healthcare. It can also lead to shock and anger when they receive large, unanticipated bills. According to a recent survey by The Harris Poll on behalf of the American Heart Association, 18% of patients revealed they received an unexpected medical bill of $1,000 or more in the past year.
Patients can make more informed decisions about their treatment options when they understand the expected costs before receiving care. This empowers them to actively participate in their healthcare and choose the most appropriate care plan within their budget. Just as a diner in a restaurant can decide what to order based on their budget and the menu in front of them, a patient with a cost estimate can discuss treatment options and plan for expenses.
The Importance of Clear Communication
To address these patient financial experience concerns, medical practices can utilize tools like BillFlash's PreBill to inform patients of charges before their visit. PreBill allows practices to send patients a text message or email with a link. This will help them handle their pre-visit charges on the online payment portal, PayWoot.com. Beyond upfront cost estimates, practices must also focus on delivering billing statements that are easy for patients to understand.
Clear communication is the foundation of trust, and practices can enhance understanding and minimize confusion about charges by customizing mailed bills with clear payment options, plain language instead of medical jargon, and colors that highlight key information. Including a PDF insert with each mailed statement can help enhance transparency and education. These inserts can provide context about the visit, guidance on understanding insurance coverage and out-of-pocket costs, and even general healthcare information to support better well-being.
Healthcare already presents enough complexity, and financial stress makes it harder to manage. By making upfront transparency a priority, practices can help remove that burden for patients and keep them returning for the care they need, thanks to tools like PreBill.
2. Offer a User-Friendly Patient Portal
Clear and consistent communication about bills is essential for improving your practice's patient financial experience. This includes mailed statements, text messages, or emails directing patients to an online payment portal. Mailed statements that include QR codes that lead to a payment portal simplify the process, allowing patients to access the payment portal for secure online payments. This level of convenience meets modern expectations—today's consumers want their interactions to be as fast and hassle-free as ordering dinner or booking a trip. Consumers have grown accustomed to the digital experiences offered by retailers, banks, and technology companies, and they now seek the same convenience from their medical providers.
Choosing the Right Digital Portal
Patients want to feel in control of their medical costs. According to a past study, 79% of healthcare consumers prefer to pay all medical bills from one digital portal. With the right online portal offering centralized access to patient statements, payment history, and billing management, patients can take an increasingly active role in their healthcare finances. A user-friendly digital platform gives them the sense of ownership they need. This, in turn, builds trust and improves the overall patient financial experience.
Aside from 24/7 visibility into their accounts, patients also want to manage payments through the portal. Features like OnlinePay, automatic payment setups, and access to financing options make it simple to fulfill financial obligations on their schedule. With a mobile-friendly design, patients can also conveniently use the portal from anywhere.
When patients can log in, see what they owe, and make a payment with just a few clicks, it removes a major point of friction and frustration. That's why medical practices partner with BillFlash's online payment platform, PayWoot.com, to deliver a painless digital patient financial experience. Patients can review their statements, set up recurring payments, and even explore financing options—all while staying connected to the practice through a single portal.
3. Offer Multiple and Flexible Payment Options
Another benefit practices can offer is enabling patients to pay medical bills in ways that suit their needs and preferences. Practices should implement multi-channel payment processing that allows patients to pay through different methods. This includes in-office payments, online payments through debit cards and credit cards, phone payments, checks, or through a patient portal.
This variety allows consumers to choose the best method, improving their overall patient financial experience. Integrating payment options like Google Pay and Apple Pay can provide even more convenience since many patients use mobile wallets for everyday transactions. Another payment option is to offer financing solutions such as BillFlash FlexPay. This helps practices ease the financial load on patients by allowing them to break down their bills into installments.
4. Implement Financing Solutions for Patient Affordability
As mentioned, the financial strain placed on patients often leads them to delay or put off needed care. Offering patient financing solutions allows your practice to provide more accessible and affordable care options. Patients feel more comfortable and confident seeking medical care when they know financing options are available at a medical practice. Over 30% of patients are willing to switch providers if they can find a provider offering flexible patient financing options.
Financing options are meaningful to the patients because they allow them to split larger bills into monthly payments instead of paying the full amount upfront. BillFlash FlexPay ensures practices get paid in full upfront while offering patients flexible monthly installment plans. The application process is quick—less than a minute! With a 90% approval rate and every approved applicant receiving a 0% interest plan option, FlexPay makes healthcare costs more manageable for patients. Offering flexible payment solutions like FlexPay with multi-channel payment processing enables a better overall patient financial experience.
5. Enhance Your Collections Process With Integrated Solutions
A patient-friendly collections process is needed in a healthcare landscape where patient responsibility has risen. Many providers fail to collect 30-50% of outstanding patient balances, highlighting the importance of effective collections. A patient-friendly approach improves collection rates and reduces the frustration generally associated with this process.
An integrated collections process offers practices a practical way to streamline their collections while still having the transparency they need. Many healthcare providers, regardless of location or the size of their practice, need significant help with collections. An integrated process helps practices properly manage their collections while ensuring the entire process remains respectful and compassionate for patients.
Through BillFlash Integrated Collections Service, practices can oversee which accounts are sent for collection during routine billing file reviews. Practices can approve recommended accounts, withdraw any accounts at any time, and maintain complete visibility into all contact activities for every open account. This control helps to ensure that practices have authority over their collections process.
Importantly, patients are treated with respect by our team of Recovery Specialists, all of whom are licensed in all 50 states. With 75% of our team being bilingual, language barriers are minimized, allowing for smoother patient communication.
Integrated Collections Services deposits collected payments directly into the bank account used with BillFlash Pay Services. This means that practices get paid first—which can significantly improve cash flow. Adopting Integrated Collections Services benefits the practice's bottom line and fosters a positive patient financial experience. Patients are more inclined to actively engage with their financial obligations when treated with respect and appreciation.
Create a Better Patient Financial Experience With BillFlash
A better patient financial experience hinges on five key strategies. This includes clear communication, a user-friendly patient portal, flexible payment options, financing solutions, and an enhanced collections process. Implementing these strategies will improve patient satisfaction by prioritizing patient transparency and control over healthcare finances. In addition, streamlined billing, payment, and collections lead to a healthier revenue cycle and faster payments for the practice.
Want to elevate your practice's patient financial experience and get paid faster? Schedule a demo with BillFlash today to discover how our billing, payment, and collection solutions can help your practice thrive.