Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/731691
54 Executive Briefing to apply the same expectations they have in other consumer- driven business exchanges, adding, "Consumers want their healthcare exchanges to match the experiences they get with Amazon, Uber and Google, from the convenience and fast automation, to the cashless transaction." As patients continue to rely more on their time-tested consumer behaviors and tendencies in their healthcare interactions, hospitals must now oblige them. "This is where big data can come into play," Mr. Law notes. "Providers need to be more mindful of who they are dealing with on a patient- by-patient block, customize the patient experience and get the best results." Direct, clear communication with patients is also key in these interactions. It is important to determine a patient's responsibility after a provider ascertains his or her eligibility status, co-pay amount owed, deductible balance and other miscellaneous information related to fees, according to Mr. Law. To Determine the Propensity to Pay, Providers Need Personas Merriam-Webster defines a persona as "The aspect of some- one's character that is presented to or perceived by others." Zotec Partners uses a platform that draws from troves of data to similarly create "personas" of individuals and payers to optimize the revenue cycle. Mr. Law states that by analyzing an individual's persona, providers can determine an individ- ual's likelihood to pay, or the propensity for conflict. "Know- ing these tendencies ahead of time allows hospitals to tailor billing interactions and collection techniques to individuals to minimize friction in making payments, and to maximize collections," Mr. Law remarks. A patient's demographics are often tied to the likelihood that he or she will respond to a text message notification about medical bills versus receiving paper statements in the mail, according to Mr. Law. "An elderly patient may not be as tech- nologically savvy as a patient who is a younger, generation Y parent," he says. "For the elderly patient, the paper statement or phone call might work better based on payment history and demographic data, whereas for the younger patient, we would be better served to employ a mobile strategy to col- lect payment." Mr. Law adds that, based on these patient characteristics and tendencies, hospitals can decide how to best interact with individuals and ultimately collect money. Providers should, however, view their collection efforts as a return on investment. Mr. Law suggests, "Providers should in- vest their resources in accounts where extra efforts will yield net cash returns, specifically on patients who have a propen- sity to complain." If a patient's persona reveals a strong propensity to pay, then groups can likely avoid investing collection resources on ac- counts that would pay anyway, especially given a patient's payment history paired with other elements of the patient persona, Mr. Law notes. He goes on to say that patient perso- nas should reflect both the expected collection amount and risk/propensity for friction so providers can ensure they are putting their efforts on the right patients, and with the right frequency. Patient Payments Tie into Patient Satisfaction Healthcare institutions rely on billing and collections to re- main financially stable, but they may not be aware of the large impact that billing and collections have on their patient satisfaction scores as well, according to Mr. Law. "When the Department of Health and Human Services decid- ed to base 30 percent of hospitals' Medicare reimbursement on patient satisfaction survey scores, they did not factor in the methods that were being used to collect payments from patients, nor the vast cultural and demographic differenc- es that each hospital sees and must contend with to keep patients happy," says Mr. Law. A negative billing experience can greatly increase a patient's frustration with the hospital, which can then be tied into a patient's propensity to com- plain, he adds. Further supporting Mr. Law's stance on the issue, a 2016 study by Connance found 74 percent of satisfied patients paid their medical bills in full, compared to 33 percent of their lesser satisfied counterparts. "In sum, patient dissatisfaction with fi- nancial processes can negatively impact satisfaction scores… and an institution's bottom line," Mr. Law says. Organizations must think through the entire transaction and the impact it will have, and not just for one individual patient. Mr. Law believes the greatest takeaway in today's new collections strategies is that they must be anything but cookie-cutter. He says, "Providers must attempt to balance their revenue cycle management techniques with efforts that reach patients on a personal level, including finding ways to improve each unique patient's experience while positively impacting cash flow for the hospital." n 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 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.