A Guide to Running a Successful Patient Self Pay Program

An unwavering commitment to understanding clients differentiates businesses in all industries. They offer information, products, and experiences that anticipate and address the unique needs of their patrons. Successful customer-centric businesses also diligently communicate and connect with their consumers. Thus, any successful healthcare patient responsibility pay program should anticipate needs, communicate effectively, and keep the patient’s concerns in the forefront.
While physician groups and practices may recognize the importance of patient pay tools, many facilities blindly adopt these technologies without building workflows and processes to support them. Successful revenue cycle management demands that physician groups offer several touchpoints for patients throughout the revenue cycle. By adding these touch points, thus communicating effectively and consistently, patient responsibility accounts can easily transition from non-paying to paying status.

Patient Diversity Shapes Your Patient Pay Program

Physicians care for a wide demographic of patients. Therefore, providers may confront a variety of behaviors and inclinations regarding payments, technology, and communication. Keeping patient diversity in mind, a provider should make clinical data available from several points. From Inbound IVR systems, to mobile apps, to online portals or platforms, patients should access their clinical and payment information in a way that best fits their preferences.

Integrating an outbound contact or notification strategy also improves accounts receivable management. Knowing which patients to reach first and the best way to reach them improves both response and invoice fulfillment time while also maintaining a positive patient experience.

Using clinical and demographic data, physicians can employ segmentation technology in their revenue cycle. These tools aggregate information on patients and categorize them based on their balance due and likelihood to pay. With a data-driven patient responsibility program, physicians can better strategize payment collection and patient engagement.

Notably, revenue cycle management and patient self pay requires an intimate understanding of patient personas.

Here are a few personas that your organization may encounter:

The Patient Who Needs Reminders

This type of patient benefits from a more proactive approach to accounts receivable management. These patients are unlikely to pay without being prompted by a reminder or notification. A mailed statement, mobile alert, or phone call should provoke the patient to take action on their bill. Allocate your follow-up resources to this type of patient, and you will experience better cash flow.

The Self-Sufficient Patient

These patients may prefer a more hands-off approach to paying their bills, such as an automatic payment system. Your practice may have better success by encouraging these patients to pay through patient portals, payment IVR hotlines, and mobile applications. While these patients may appreciate online statement access, outbound reminders should not be necessary—they are likely to pay on time whether or not you contact them.

Be cautioned. With excessive notification, your practice may frustrate and create dissatisfaction with the overall experience since they already know when and how they want to pay.

The Patient Who Refuses to Pay

The unreceptive and unresponsive patient lies at the other end of the spectrum. Due to a variety of circumstances, this type of patient is unwilling to settle their balance. Using data segmentation, you may be able to identify unreceptive patients by looking at their payment history or frequently changing or absent home addresses or numbers. No matter the balance, your practice should expect not to receive payment and prepare accordingly.

This type of patient often qualifies for financial assistance or write-offs. For example, a presumptive charity scoring system may be applied to the account. By anticipating that this patient is unlikely to pay, you can focus your revenue cycle management efforts on patients who are more likely to fulfill their invoices.

Benefits of a High-Touch Model

Using patient responsibility payment tools and technologies is not enough to guarantee a healthy cash flow for a healthcare facility. Your physician group or practice would benefit from employing a high-touch model for your revenue cycle management. When medical groups adapt their collection and revenue process to appeal to the tendencies of each type of consumer, they will find it easier to increase cash flow and receive payments on time.

Partner with Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management Experts Today

At MEDSTAT, Arizona’s trusted medical billing agency, we offer technology solutions to help physician groups stay on track with patient payments. Our iConnect for Healthcare is a personalized patient engagement platform that cost-effectively helps organizations improve their collection rates.

iConnect for Healthcare assists with questions related to services and orders by delivering estimates and statements to patients. It also works across multiple channels based on patients’ profile preferences, which enables your organization to tailor its approach.

The result? A powerful revenue cycle management solution that helps you create configurable workflows customized to your facilities’ patient demographics and needs!
Empower transformation in your practice by partnering with MEDSTAT. Get in touch with us today to schedule your first demo