Healthcare organizations have multiple tools at their disposal to help initiate a discussion about payment before the patient receives care, according to KaLynn Gates, president of Springfield, Ore.-based HealthFirst Financial.
Ms. Gates shared the following tip with Becker's Hospital Review.
"Both patients and providers benefit from discussing the patient's share of costs before treatment, but it takes a real shift in processes and behavior. Here are three steps to getting there:
- Use a price estimator.
- Offer a range of payment options, including a prompt-pay discount for those willing to pay with cash, check or credit/debit cards; a low or no-interest payment plan; and charity care.
- Invest in training and develop a specific script for frontline staff so they can speak comfortably with patients about paying their bills."
Read more about patient payments here.
If you would like to share your RCM best practices, please email Kelly Gooch at kgooch@beckershealthcare.com to be featured in the "RCM tip of the day" series.
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