Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/549045
62 Executive Briefing: Billing and Patient Satisfaction out-of-pocket expenses and work with the patient to proactively design an account resolution plan. After treatment, the right pa- tient advocacy program begins by assisting a patient with all charges regardless of provider. The advocate then ensures that claims were processed correctly, handles any billing or claim disputes on behalf of the patient and proactively develops payment plans as necessary. By helping patients navigate the healthcare system from a financial perspective and fixing any issues along the way, patient advocates can be the difference between a very frustrating patient experience and one that en- genders long-term patient loyalty. Although patient advocacy may sound like an expensive propo- sition for revenue cycle executives who are trying to increase cash and reduce expenses, vendors like Adreima offer easy-to- implement and low-cost advocacy solutions that are enabled by technology. By automating part of the advocate workflow, these solutions make it practical to scale one-on-one advocacy services across a larger patient population, which improves the return on investment for the initiative. A leading California health system that implemented Adreima's Patient Advocacy solution experienced a 29 percent increase in patient payments. viii At the same time, 100 percent of patients surveyed agreed that patient advocacy improved their experi- ence with the hospital, and that having patient advocacy, they are more likely to recommend the hospital to family and friends. Patients working with a patient advocate are both more likely to pay their bills and be happier with their experience which, in the long run, has a much larger financial impact for the hospital. Applying Net Promoter Score to measure pa- tient satisfaction Hospital executives are also beginning to use Net Promoter Score®, a measure of patients' likelihood to recommend the hospital, as their "true north" in pursuing patient experience goals. Leaders in the commercial sector have long known about the strategic and financial value of customer retention and have built sophisticated programs to improve and measure it. Given the consumerization of their industry, healthcare leaders are be- ginning to learn from the best practices used in the retail, con- sumer products and other industries, and using Net Promoter is one such best practice that healthcare executives would do well to adopt. The Net Promoter Score is a customer loyalty metric that is widely used in both the business-to-consumer and business- to-business markets, especially in the retail, financial services, transportation, industrial goods and services, telecommunica- tions, consumer goods and airline industries. Twelve healthcare enterprises were among the 362 organizations that entered their results in the NPS database in 2014. The NPS system provides a method for collecting customer feedback and applying it to improve the organization. The met- ric has also been found to be a strong predictor of overall fi- nancial health, and therefore many companies use NPS as the single metric to measure the success of their initiatives. One study found there is a strong, positive correlation between a company's Net Promoter Score and its five-year compound an- nual growth rate. ix Hospitals can use NPS to understand and track "how they are doing" from the patient's perspective in a broad sense, and also to measure the impact of specific initiatives and programs such as patient advocacy. Adreima's Patient Advocacy service has an NPS of 80 versus the average hospital NPS of 55. x Conclusion Patient satisfaction is an increasingly important outcome for hos- pitals to manage. Medicare and competitive market entrants are forcing a focus on patient satisfaction, and pressure will increase in the years to come. The patient's perspective on their experi- ence influences their likelihood to return to the hospital or rec- ommend it to others when future medical needs arise. Overall, patient satisfaction is becoming a multibillion dollar variable in healthcare economics. Because billing is one of the most common detractors of patient satisfaction, efforts to improve the patient revenue cycle expe- rience are critical. Patient advocacy is a proven path hospitals are taking to meet the new challenges and financial imperatives associated with patient satisfaction. Extending patient advocacy to billing is another example of how hospitals are transitioning to patient-centered care, which aligns with the customer-centric philosophy of the NPS movement. Implementing a patient ad- vocacy program to improve patient satisfaction and using NPS to measure the impact of this and other programs are two con- crete steps hospital executives can take to put their organiza- tions on better footing amid the shifting healthcare landscape. n i U.S. Department of Health & Human Services press release "Better, Smarter, Healthier: In historic announcement, HHS sets clear goals and timeline for shifting Medicare reimbursements from volume to value" January 26, 2015. Accessible at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2015pres/01/20150126a.html ii David G. Morrisey, "The True Cost of Alienating Patients," Physicians Weekly, Au- gust 23, 2012 iii HealthLeaders Media Industry Survey 2013 iv Karen Cheung-Larivee, "Billing Process Linked to Long-term Patient Satisfaction," Fierce Healthcare, December 14, 2011 v 2012 McKinsey & Co. Research Study vi Adreima focus groups vii David G. Morrisey, "The True Cost of Alienating Patients," Physicians Weekly, Au- gust 23, 2012 viii Revenue results based on Adreima analysis from March-April 2014. Sample size: 361 accounts ix Satmetrix "The Power Behind a Single Number" x Julie Coffman and Phyllis Yale, "Would you Recommend this Hospital to a Friend?" Bain & Company Brief, December 19, 2007 Adreima provides clinically-integrated revenue cycle services to approximately 600 hospitals nationwide with specialized delivery expertise and a full revenue cycle perspective to assist our clients in recognizing the full value of the services they provide. Our unique clinical approach to the revenue cycle helps us to support our clients in achieving results.