Getting paid in healthcare is sometimes difficult, but implementing the right IT solutions can make collecting payment from patients easy to do.
Electronic, integrated and cloud-based IT solutions have been making their way into healthcare settings for several years now – and the technology trend is just starting to take off. New software systems and hardware are meant to improve efficiency, reduce operating costs, and increase patient satisfaction. They are also meant to increase revenue by making physicians and support staff more productive. Many medical facilities implementing these solutions, however, fail to consider how their IT investments might pay off by helping staff collect from patients more efficiently, be it through successful front-end payment or back-end recovery efforts.
Does your healthcare organization use EMR/PM software or offer online bill pay? Read on to find out how these IT solutions present an opportunity to increase revenue, manage office resources in more efficient ways, and collect payment from patients.
Behavioral Health, Interoperability and eConsent: Meeting the Demands of CMS Final Rule Compliance
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
EMR/PM Software
If the figures from industry polls are accurate, more than half of hospitals and healthcare practices are currently using electronic medical record software – and the numbers are increasing month to month. Most EMR systems have a built-in billing module or can integrate with practice management solutions, thus ensuring a streamlined billing process where charge capture is automated, accurate and timely.
While healthcare businesses have long used electronic means for billing, it is the interface with patient health records that is making billing and collections quicker, easier and more exact. After all, by accessing one single system, staff can:
- Manage patient accounts and balances.
- Verify insurance information and demographics.
- Submit insurance claims directly to the payer for payment.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
If a claim comes back denied, billers can look into the system to find the problem and correct it. Plus, once a patient pays their bill, it is reflected in the system, allowing staff to move on to the next account.
Online Bill Pay
According to an AMA article which cites a 2011 survey, more than 50 percent of U.S. adults say they would consider going to a different doctor, provided that the doctor offered some kind of online bill pay service. This is not surprising, considering that the majority of Americans pay some or all of their bills online. Healthcare practices that fail to offer this as a service to their patients stand to lose out on potential revenue – and that’s just the start. Traditional collection methods tend to cost a company more, both in terms of time spent contacting and following up with patients and in resources used sending statements and collection letters.
To offer the option for patients to pay their medical bills online, healthcare organizations can set up an EMR-integrated healthcare portal. This is one of the most efficient ways to receive payments from patients, and it employs software that is most likely already being used for other healthcare reasons. Online portals allow patients to sign in through a secure connection, review their statements, and make a full or partial payment at a time and a place that is convenient to them. This can lead to increased medical collection rates, meanwhile creating less work for billing staff. Online bill pay options such as this one allow organizations to take full advantage of existing health IT solutions, ensuring a high return on their investment.
What other health IT solutions is your healthcare organization using to collect payment from patients?