Patient financial responsibility continues to increase, comprising a greater part of healthcare revenue. With patients causing a shift in a provider’s revenue sources, hospitals and practices alike must evaluate internal patient collection strategies, so providers can collect all the revenue owed to them promptly. With that in mind, let’s take a look at two best practices to help improve the bottom line.
Implement a collection strategy that emphasizes being proactive. As soon as a patient’s medical bill is on their way to them, the provider’s revenue cycle has slowed. With recent studies suggesting providers only anticipate collecting about fifty percent of the patient balance, it is vital to take the time and ensure staff has implemented a patient collections strategy prior to the date of an appointment. There are greater odds of a patient not fulfilling their financial responsibility if patients haven’t been made aware of their bills and payment options.
Develop payment plans. It’s well-known that individuals are having difficulty paying their medical bills due to reasons such as high deductible health plans. By having payment plans in place, providers can help patients ease the financial burden. This can significantly boost the odds of receiving the balance in full if the total cost can be broken down into smaller, easier to afford payments over time.
This update is by Medical Accounts Systems, a full-service healthcare revenue cycle management company providing a number of services including insurance follow up and managed care disputes, physician reimbursement, extended business office services, and more. For additional information on our services or for any questions you may have on topics such as hospital bad debt, please call 877-759-6315.