Mar 19
2019
The Dos and Don’ts of Digital Healthcare Payments
By Alison Arthur, product and content marketing manager, Alacriti.
The financial well-being of healthcare organizations depends on steady, predictable revenue from their patients. However, healthcare payments are often impacted by a number of financial factors including insurance, co-payments, deductibles, and co-insurance.
Research from TransUnion shows that patients are becoming increasingly responsible for out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures. This means that the possibility of missed bill payments can increase as well. Healthcare providers know that sending unpaid bills to collections can be a significant expense and even lead to costly write-offs that negatively impact the bottom line.
How can healthcare organizations increase the likelihood of collecting patient payments on-time and in-full? Digital bill presentment and electronic payment technology can be a chief facilitator of timely bill payments. Here are some dos and don’ts for healthcare organizations to consider when adopting an electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) solution.
Do allow patients to personalize their digital bill payments experience.
Consumers are growing more accustomed to electronic payments in all aspects of their lives. However, many healthcare providers still aren’t equipped to accept online payments from their patients. This continued reliance on in-person payments, agent-assisted transactions, and mailed payments can put a strain on internal resources that costs both time and money. In addition, there are security and compliance implications when employees handle sensitive payment information directly from patients.
EBPP technology can provide patients 24/7 accessibility to their accounts, meaning that patient payments no longer need to be processed exclusively during office hours. These payments can be made using a variety of digital channels that are aligned with patients’ preferences including mobile devices, text messages, and intelligent personal assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.