Becker's Hospital Review

May 2016 Issue of Becker's Hospital Review

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35 Executive Briefing yond clinical care, saying, "The revenue cycle is analogous to a retailer's check-out process in that it can either increase or de- crease the likelihood of future encounters, even more so given these relationships are more emotionally driven than, say, buy- ing groceries or taking a ride with Uber." The new patient-consumer requires a more integrated approach in their interactions with hospitals and physicians. Therefore, the patient experience can and should be akin to the customer relationship management strategies that many retail and ser- vice-driven businesses employ, he adds. Part of those strategies include accessibility to make purchases and payments outside of the retail environment, or in this case, outside of the physician office. "Point-of-service collections, while ideal, are not always the only way to obtain payment," Mr. McMurray suggests. "For patients, the clinical and financial ex- periences are one and the same, which is why providers have to be diligent on the back-end as well as the front-end." Convenience = Payment A critical question posed by healthcare providers recently is, where does the self-pay after insurance payment responsibility now lie? Is it with the patient or with the physician provider? Recent studies suggest part of the problem could lie in the physician provider approach, noting that 74 percent of insured consumers indicated they are both able and willing to pay their out-of-pocket medical expenses up to $1,000 per year. 2 So then, the next question would be, "How easy is it for the pa- tient-consumer to make the payment?" Follow-up protocols to patients are essential to collecting pay- ment. As Mr. McMurray points out, "Following up with the pa- tient-consumer should go far beyond traditional methods, which typically only include a statement, pre-collection letter and collection write-off." Patient outreach tools have the capability to generate improved patient revenues for physician groups. The patient outreach methods used by Zotec include a dedicated patient portal, pa- tient phone calls woven into the traditional billing cycle of bills and statements and multiple ways for patients to pay for their bills — including a new option for patients to receive a bill, view and update their account and make payment directly from their smartphones. "We are giving physician groups the ability to connect with consumers — especially younger generations that conduct business from their personal devices —– in a way that is revolutionary for the healthcare market," says Mr. McMurray. Compliance with regulations that protect consumers' privacy is also a key component in patient-consumer communications, es- pecially in regards to new mobile consumers and text messag- es, which are essential in today's communications efforts with patient consumers. "We legally rely on the demographic infor- mation patients voluntarily provide to hospitals and providers to ensure we have patients' most up-to-date express consent for text messages, as one example." He suggests that companies should strive to ensure patient phone calls and text messages always comply with the Tele- phone Consumer Protection Act and the latest Federal Commu- nications Commission regulations. It is no secret that mobile usage has risen in recent years. Mr. McMurray notes that from a medical billing standpoint, physi- cians should take advantage of the prime opportunity to direct- ly reach their patients. "Mobile technology gives physicians an ideal opportunity to engage patients in a platform that is most frequently used in near real-time," he says. According to recent statistics, Americans used mobile devices more than PCs to ac- cess the internet, 4 and the percentage of bills paid using mo- bile devices grew by 69 percent in 2014. 5 Additionally, more than two-thirds of cell phone owners check their phones for calls, alerts and emails — even when haven't no- ticed it ringing or vibrating, according to a 2014 Pew study. 6 These statistics underscore the point that physicians should be taking advantage of a critical component to bill paying strate- gies. Mr. McMurray suggests notices and alerts are very useful throughout the entire patient experience, adding that patients can be reminded of their financial accountability during various points of a medical encounter, with access to electronic state- ments for payment throughout. Either way, achieving payment would not be possible without effective tools and technologies that give physicians a way to more closely leverage the opportunity to enhance the patient billing experience. "The latest interactive voice technologies and patient portals are critical platforms that should be intui- tive for patients, but ultimately, providers must take a multidis- ciplinary approach in patient engagement and employ a vari- ety of tools that will suit all their consumers' preferences," says Mr. McMurray. He emphasizes that no patient is the same, and therefore the way providers engage them should not be "cookie cutter," either. Meeting the Demands We've established the paradigm shift in how patient payment responsibility carries over into a business-to-consumer real- ity for healthcare providers, and healthcare reform has forced physician practices to adapt to ongoing changes. The closing question for providers is, "How can you meet the demand for a multi-channel approach to patient billing and payment — in addition to the mobile options discussed earlier?" A shared objective among healthcare providers and their reve- nue cycle management partners is to give the new patient-con- sumer population options to pay their bills at any step in the revenue cycle process — be it before, during or after a medical encounter and using a variety of methods and technologies. Physician providers must work hard to optimize patient pay- ments in order to build integrity into their revenue cycle, viewing it as a large part of the clinical experience as well, with revenue cycle management partners often serving as trusted advisors. n Sponsored by: About Zotec Partners Founded in 1998 by CEO T. Scott Law, Zotec Partners is the Indianapolis-based industry leader in specialized medical billing and practice management services for the hospital-based specialty market. Zotec Partners is committed to the continual pursuit of excellence in the physician revenue cycle manage- ment industry by delivering effective solutions through its proprietary technol- ogy, personalized service and measurable client results. Currently, the compa- ny serves more than 8,000 physicians in all 50 states.

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