Gastroenterology Coding Alert

Preliminary data from large health care systems says, ‘Yes!’

With the rise of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), more and more money is coming out of pocket and front and back office staff are spending more and more time collecting that money. Could mobile engagement save you money on patient billing and collections?

Yes, says one large provider that was an early adopter of patient engagement technology. Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston recently overhauled patient engagement at its 212 locations. Chief Revenue Officer Ron Wachsman spoke at HIMSS16 and described these benefits for his health system’s revenue cycle. Physician practices that have implemented patient engagement systems are beginning to see similar collections results.

You can make insurance reimbursements and patient billing simpler and more transparent with good patient engagement systems. Patients who feel positive about your practice’s billing are 41 percent more likely to pay all of their bills, and 37 percent more likely to return to the same provider for another service, says Wachsman, citing a Connance study.

If you make it easy for patients to use “self service” options, you reduce the time your staff must spend collecting insurance information, sending bills, and collecting payments. Once Memorial Hermann updated patient engagement, it lowered cost per post-service transaction by 27 percent and increased total patient collections by 17 percent. The health system was able to reduce money it had previously paid to third-party collectors, Wachsman adds.

Tip: To encourage your patients to try self service options for the first time and use them again and again, choose systems with simple, direct language and clear, patient-friendly layouts. Offer flexibility, like the ability to set up payment plans online.

Email reminders can save on collection costs. When you obtain patient emails, it’s cheaper to send payment requests because you don’t have to spend money on paper and postage. If your email reminders contain a link to self-service payment portals, you will collect outstanding A/R faster, Wachsman predicts. Email reminders also solve the “age-old confusion of all the paper bills and duplicate statements that pile up after an episode.”