Health iPASS Insights

You are a small to mid-sized dermatology practice, just trying to make your way in the world. Lately, you’ve found yourself in the middle of a revenue cycle jungle. The daily frustrations are driving up your emotional temperature and the stress is clinging to you like a wet blanket. You are struggling to work with multiple payers, and the claims denials keep coming at you like mosquitos, sucking the income away from your practice.

It’s kind of a bummer returning to freezing Chicago weather after attending the 2018 American Association of Orthopaedic Executives (AAOE) Conference in warm and sunny Orlando. Isn’t it supposed to be spring? Someone needs to let Mother Nature know.  

It’s no secret that collecting on outstanding medical debt can be challenging, especially after the procedure is complete. Nine out of every 10 physician practices believe they should collect a patient’s financial responsibility before they leave the office or hospital.

Unlike other industries, healthcare has been slow to adopt technology that would yield more financial success by streamlining the payment cycle. That narrative is changing thanks to rising self-pay payments. Providers are increasingly looking to patient payment systems that will streamline the revenue cycle from start to finish.

Healthcare payments are stuck in the past. As a result, providers who practice the same approaches to collecting patient payments are suffering. Revenue cycle management relies on technology that is robust enough to deliver a modern approach to healthcare payments than what has been delivered in years past. 

What would a perfect patient journey look like? That might depend on who you’re asking. For patients trying to navigate their healthcare journey in an increasingly complex environment, the perfect journey is one where they feel empowered to make informed decisions with convenient solutions. Empowering the patient in their healthcare journey has never been more important.

Self-service patient technology is the way of the future. Even so, it takes a strategy to back it up and be successful--especially when handling patient payments.

Today, more than ever, healthcare providers who want their patient collection strategies to succeed need to be involved in how their patients pay. Patients have a lot of decisions to make about their healthcare, one of the most burdensome being cost. To ensure patients make payments on time, consistent education and engagement is required. 

Every year, self-service capabilties become more commonplace, serving consumers in industries from travel to retail. Whether checking in for a flight or checking out at the grocery store, today’s consumers are more self-sufficient than ever before.

Today's healthcare consumer expects the same self-service capabilities from their healthcare experience. Yet despite this reality, many health systems still struggle to implement tools that will help streamline the patient experience. 

Technology has come a long way in the healthcare industry. From medical uses to improved administrative tasks, the use of advanced technology in today's health system is par for the course. 

One area of health system technology that is gaining ground is in how it relates to the patient experience. With a focus on patient consumerism, technology that streamlines everything from the patient check-in process to bill payment is essential to meet the growing demands of patients.