32
Executive Briefing
suited to today's increasingly retail-oriented healthcare pay-
ment environment. On the physician side, we are also able to
use predictive analytics to determine patient tendencies ahead
of time, in order to obtain a firm understanding of who they are
and what they like, or if they have a preference for mobile use,
for instance."
The Institute of Healthcare Consumerism (IHC) shares this no-
tion, stating, "There is a greater expectation for personalized
experience in healthcare, and healthcare technologies that
seek to know each patient, remember preferences and engage
with them effectively, and via the communication channels they
are used to in daily life, will be at the forefront of taking patient
care to its next inevitable level." The IHC also suggests these
patient experience technologies can ultimately lead to higher
patient volumes, more revenue, increased profitability and an
overall standard of care.
(3)
Mr. Law does caution providers against investing too much time
and effort on collecting from patients that are predicted to pay,
adding, "Providers need to know they are putting their efforts on
the right patients, based on what is reflected in each patient's
expected collection amount and his or her risk or propensity to
complain. By giving patients the capacity to immediately pay
their bills anytime and from anywhere, we ultimately give pro-
viders the ability to collect and post payments faster and more
efficiently, without manual processing errors," he says.
Steeped in Security
In a recent Money Magazine article, a large provider of mobile
payment services suggests that mobile payments are inherently
more secure than using a plastic credit card because most mobile
payments are conducted on phones that have GPS, stating, "With
GPS capabilities, payment providers can determine who you are
and whether the transaction is a legitimate one, with a lot of data
around the transaction that can actually be utilized to protect peo-
ple, as opposed to what isn't found on a plastic credit card."
(4)
This is good news for healthcare as well, says Mr. Law, who also
keeps patient security and privacy at the forefront when consid-
ering mobile payment options for patients. "Compliance with
regulations that protect consumers' privacy is a key component
in patient-consumer communications, especially in regards to
new mobile consumers and text messages, which are essen-
tial in today's communications efforts with patient-consumers,"
he says. Mr. Law added that Zotec legally relies on the demo-
graphic information patients voluntarily provide to hospitals
and providers to ensure it has patients' most up-to-date express
consent for text messages, as an example.
"When it comes to patient interaction, we strive to ensure phone
calls and text messages always comply with the Telephone Con-
sumer Protection Act and the latest Federal Communications
Commission regulations," he says. Zotec's follow-up protocols to
patients are made on behalf of its physician clients to collect pay-
ments, and only those patients that have provided prior express
consent receive texts and phone calls.
While traditional payment methods are still necessary among
healthcare's varying demographic populations, mobile pay-
ment transaction volumes and payment amounts are quickly in-
creasing, and mobile use has skyrocketed. "Providers must step
up to the plate and begin to offer patient-consumers an easy
mobile experience, but only if it sparks the patients' propensity
to pay," Mr. Law says. He maintains that if providers want to see
increases in collections from patients who continue to have ris-
ing patient responsibility, mobile efforts strategically combined
with traditional ones often yield the best results. n
References
1) https://hbr.org/2011/03/david-aylward-the-mobile-phone
2) 2014 Billing Household Survey from Fiserv http://www.slideshare.
net/FiservPR/fiserv-seventh-annual-bill
3) http://www.theihcc.com/en/communities/health_care_consumer-
ism/the-consumerization-of-healthcare-what-patient-exp_h333dkhj.
html
4) h t t p : / / m o n e y. u s n e w s . c o m / m o n e y / p e r s o n a l - f i n a n c e / a r t i -
cles/2012/05/02/how-safe-are-mobile-payments
Founded in 1998 by CEO T. Scott Law, Zotec Partners is the Indianapolis-based industry lead-
er 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 management industry by delivering effective solutions through its
proprietary technology, personalized service and measurable client results. Currently, the
company serves more than 8,000 physicians in all 50 states.
"For providers to expect
payment from a healthcare
encounter, they must give
patients the same experiences
they're getting when they make
everyday consumer purchases."
— T. Scott Law, Founder and CEO of Zotec
