Please note, the following is an excerpt from our new playbook, 5 Ways to Improve Healthcare Bill Pay Capabilities: A Healthcare Finance Leader’s Playbook for Expanding Payments. In it, we discuss how healthcare providers can speed collections, improve satisfaction, and drive savings, with key questions for potential billing and payment partners.
You can download the full playbook by visiting www.paymentus.com/Healthcare-Playbook.
Improvement #1 – Cast a Wide Net Without Adding Costs
Patient expectations for fast, simple, and secure payment options are increasing by the day. Particularly for younger consumers and digital natives, who are now beginning to make up a larger percentage of the patient base, digital payments are part of their everyday experience. This is why we are now seeing the usage of these digital methods outpacing traditional methods such as checks and in-person point-of-sale payments. That said, millions still rely on cash for their bills, making it imperative that any modernization brings these consumers along.
Within this umbrella of “digital payments” sits a wide range of possibilities that include mobile and web payments made via ACH, credit and debit cards, and digital wallets. The inclusion of these options satisfies what we call the “omnichannel patients,” who are comfortable viewing and paying their medical bills in a number of different ways.
In fact, 46% of all U.S. consumers in the U.S. (approximately 119 million patients) engage with their providers through a mix of portals, apps, in-person visits, and telehealth appointments. No two patients are alike, but that’s no cause for concern.
Key Modernization Considerations
It may seem daunting to try to accelerate collections by accommodating every patient payment preference, but the reality is that all-in-one solutions like the one offered by Paymentus make it easy to maximize payment choice.
The most important factor is to recognize your number one objective: getting paid. An effective platform will incorporate a healthy mix of the following:
Digital payment options that include credit, debit, digital wallets (PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.), and ACH
Streamlined in-person cash and card options
Set-it-and-forget-it AutoPay
24-hour interactive voice response
Secure text and email payments
By giving patients a wide range of options, your practice can ensure that it is meeting every payment need and preference.
Questions for Potential Partners
- Can patients access their preferred payment options through a consistent user experience? Consistency cements trust. Patients must trust that all elements of your billing and payment experience deliver the same security and simplicity, regardless of how they are accessed.
- Will your organization be able to benefit from a range of options all through one vendor, without multiple gateways and fees? If a vendor must rely on a third party to enable digital wallets, for instance, you could be risking gaps in your security and reporting, while also incurring added costs.
- Are your patients asking for more modern ways to pay? Knowing the preferences of your patients should form the basis of your strategy. Creating surveys can help gauge interest.
- Can you offer tools that take a more proactive approach to collecting patient balances? Payment options such as AutoPay help to ensure monthly revenue while giving patients a convenient way to pay down their bill without having to remember it.
Contact us today to speak with a healthcare billing and payments expert. We’d be happy to provide an exclusive demo and show how Paymentus can help your organization meet any patient payment preference.
