A more efficient, consumer-focused payment collection is essential to any business–and that includes your practice
Your patients are used to paying their bills online–whether it’s their household utilities or their credit card statement. So why should their healthcare bills should be any different? In a recent survey, nearly 70% of respondents said they would like to pay their medical bills either through an online portal or a mobile app. Online patient payments are a popular solution that offer benefits to patients and providers alike.
Unfortunately, many healthcare practices still rely heavily on paper when it comes to payments. Not only is all that wasted paper bad for the environment, but it also creates a lot of redundant processes that waste your staff and provider’s time– meaning even more money lost. A more efficient process gets payments back to your business faster and gives you back time to spend on patient care and other higher-value tasks, creating a win-win.
Discover four ways that an integrated and more efficient payments process can transform your business:
Improve Cash Flow
Offering your patients the convenience of an online payment solution means providers are more likely to be paid on time and in full, resulting in reduced cost of collections, and a reduction in bad debt write-offs. One study shared that 77 percent of providers reported taking over a month to collect any payment and 81 percent of providers said they cannot collect more than $1,000 in 30 days.
The impact of online bill pay to a practice’s bottom line is substantial. An additional $200 in patient payments collected per day equates to $50,000 in additional revenue each year. Reduction in costs to collect is substantial as well, amounting to another $50,000 annually.
Streamline Efficiency
Instead of preparing and mailing a paper statement, some solutions let you request payments via SMS text message. Patients can pay directly from their mobile device and submit to a secure, PCI-compliant environment, enhancing the patient engagement and practice productivity.
A no-touch payment solution also supports both paperless and contactless office environments, encouraging safety for office staff and patients. For more information on streamlining your workflow, see this handy infographic!
Drive Patient Satisfaction
With a fully integrated payment solution, patients get the security and convenience of flexible payment options, including paying in-person, online 24/7 via online payment forms or the Patient Portal, or on their smartphone or tablet.
An improved patient financial experience leads to increased consumer loyalty and that adds up to additional revenue for the practice. And what is the financial risk for not improving the payment experience? One study showed more than half of consumers would consider switching providers for a better healthcare payments experience.
Secure Transactions
If cost isn’t enough of a drawback about paper, it’s also not a secure communications tool. Credit card receipts have to be recorded and then shredded. Statements might share unnecessary PHI, putting the practice at risk. A HIPAA-compliant solution offers security and peace of mind for both patients and practices.
By offering to hold credit cards on file, practices need a HIPAA-compliant solution to ensure the integrity and security of patient’s billing information.
An Integrated Solution for Improved Revenue Flow
Updox Payments lets you interact with patients by engaging them where they are on their mobile devices. Embedded within the Updox inbox workflow, Updox Payments provides a simple, quick way to request and collect payments from any location or device. With no apps to download, payments are requested via SMS text message and submitted to a secure, PCI-compliant environment, enhancing the patient engagement and practice productivity. No paper, no problems. It’s a solution that your staff and patients will love–while also improving your bottom line.
Updox Payments lets practices request payments from patients via SMS texting, with a fully mobile patient-facing app. Learn more here!
