The latest trend in healthcare is a revolutionary new approach to patient care called Patient and Family Centered Care (PFCC).
Almost every hospital I know of is vigilantly working with their clinical care teams to adopt the PFCC approach in an effort to create the ideal patient experience – and it's working. So, should the revolution extend to finance departments?
What is PFCC?
PFCC is an approach that is centered on the belief that caregivers, patients and their families should be active partners in a patient's care. Providers are encouraged to respect patients' and their families' opinions and choices, by offering care customized to their individual needs–and on their terms. PFCC redefines relationships in health care.
This approach has the power to truly transform the patient care landscape and help caregivers make lasting improvements to patient satisfaction. It's no surprise that PFCC has become somewhat of a buzzword in the healthcare industry. So, how do we maximize the impact of the PFCC movement?
The answer is in ensuring every single employee within a health system understands the principles of PFCC and what role they play in creating the ideal patient environment. This means that while they may not be at the bedside, it's critical that hospital CFOs and their finance departments consider themselves an integral part of the PFCC movement.
Why bring PFCC to finance departments?
A negative debt collection process can motivate an otherwise happy patient to think poorly of the hospital where they received treatment. I consider this proof that patients seek quality care at every point in their experience, from first appointment to final bill payment. This means that we need to extend the PFCC principles that have been shown to improve clinical care and patient satisfaction to the billing process.
Respect is at the root of the PFCC movement – and it should be at the root of the billing process, too. Finance leaders need to ask themselves if they are offering viable, customizable payment solutions or if they're setting their patients up for financial failure.
While finance's duty is to collect every dollar owed, it's also to form a respectful relationship with patients to ensure debts are paid and their experience is exceptional. This means assisting them in addressing their debt in a manageable fashion and without the threat of bankruptcy, harassing collections calls or hits to their credit.
How can third party financing help?
However, this can be a challenge for some health systems to manage. This is why the use of third party medical payment plans (MPP) can be particularly helpful in the quest to create the ideal patient experience.
MPPs offer patients flexible, low cost options to pay for their care while effectively removing the hospital from the burden of chasing down payments owed. Patients are given flexible, custom plans that align with their actual ability to make payments. As patients determine the terms of repayment, they're far more likely to stick to the plan until the full amount is paid. With no credit checks and no prepayment penalties, the plans are designed to fit with every patient's monthly budget, regardless of their credit score.
Presenting patients with this flexible arrangement sets them up for success and ensures they have the ideal experience outlined by the principles of Patient and Family Centered Care. It also greatly reduces the likelihood of billing being the cause of patient's dissatisfaction, a win for all.
Terry Niles, Executive Vice President at Budco Financial, has built a reputation for collaborating with clients to achieve sustained revenue growth and improve their organizational efficiency. She advises health care CFOs and finance teams on how to manage their revenue cycles and improve patient satisfaction by offering flexible payment options that benefit both hospitals and patients.