Standardizing a hospital or health system's billing processes may maintain patient satisfaction and encourage them to continue to seek out an organization's services.
Shawn Yates, director of product management for Muncie, Ind.-based Ontario Systems, an accounts receivable management and healthcare revenue cycle management technology and services provider, spoke with Becker's Hospital Review about key steps health organizations can take to keep patients satisfied during collections.
Here are three tips to increase patient satisfaction in billing processes.
1. Aggregate data in one spot. If a patient calls a hospital or a health system seeking payment information, the patient should be able to get a complete picture of their care at any time through one access point, Mr. Yates says.
2. Communicate through a medium patients use. Healthcare has not caught up with the younger, mobile app generation, Mr. Yates says. Cell phones are now used to access data. During the billing process, he says providers should be connecting with patients via technology meeting their needs — whether that be an app, a website or a phone call.
3. Manage an individual's — not a population's — health. Mr. Yates says providing a hospital or health system's customer service center with accurate and accessible patient information can increase a patient's overall satisfaction and willingness to return for additional services. When a patient calls to check a bill, a customer service staff member should be able to view the patient holistically, providing him or her additional valuable information, such as the date of an upcoming appointment.