Recent survey data showed 42 percent of consumers said they would spend less or switch completely from brands that haven't delivered a satisfying digital experience during the pandemic, incentivizing healthcare organizations to ramp up their digital platforms.
After partnering with Flywire to transform its digital payment offerings, AdventHealth saw a 41 percent increase in overall pre-service collections, and the majority of its payments are now completed through self-service.
During a Feb. 8 featured session hosted by Becker's and sponsored by Flywire, Tomer Shoval, Flywire senior vice president, shared how the company helps increase payments and drives patient loyalty at some of the nation's leading health systems.
Key session takeaways:
1. Offer affordable solutions upfront. Affordability is important, even more so amid the pandemic, so giving patients affordable financing options upon their first engagement is critical, Mr. Shoval explained. If a patient is simply provided a digital statement, they might get bogged down if they're not offered a monthly plan along with it. "They're going to move on because they don't know if and how they can afford it," Mr. Shoval said. "We've lifted the ability not just to pay it in full, but the monthly payment that the patient can pay onto the first engagement. So now as a patient, instead of looking at $753, I'm looking at $62 [payments] that I can pay over time and that's the call to action."
This digital offering can also cut costs since it leads to reduced call volume for financing options, Mr. Shoval added. At the same time, putting affordable solutions in front of patients drives appreciation and has led to boosts in net promoter scores.
2. Leverage machine learning to tailor the patient experience. Digital offerings that don't align with patient preferences won't go far. This ranges from how they prefer to receive statements and appointment reminders, to recognizing what type of device they're using and enabling automatic adjustments to the experience. If a patient is on their phone trying to engage with a platform that is designed for a big screen, for example, that creates frustration and ultimately interferes with payments being fulfilled, Mr. Shoval said.
3. Routinely monitor the value of digital solutions. "The bottom line of any type of technology solution and any type of behavior change, is it always needs to translate into dollars and cents into return on investment," Mr. Shoval said. "This is a conversion, so it's not just about, 'Hey, let's just send as many types of statements, emails or SMS text messages.' It's also about how effective they are. How many people who received them click on them and go to the next step to see the bill? How many of them go to the next step and choose a payment method, and then finish the payment?"
To watch the full session, click here.