As hospitals look to increase collections percentages, decrease collections times and reduce costs, there are lessons to be learned from other consumer-focused industries, according to Florian Otto, MD, PhD, CEO and co-founder of revenue cycle management company Cedar.
Mr. Otto shared the following tip with Becker's Hospital Review.
"With more than 80 percent of the patient responsibility now being collected post-visit, improving the patient collections process will be critical for continued provider success. I recommend providers look at the technologies and processes used by other consumer-focused industries, such as retail or e-commerce, to engage consumers, and think about how to incorporate them into their organizations. For example, using advanced analytics, automated outreach and digital communication methods (such as email or text) can cut the amount of time to pay a bill from 120 to 150 days to within 30 days post-visit. Additionally, incorporating smart-chat functionality can accelerate payments significantly. We have witnessed that 85 percent of patients pay immediately following a chat and the median patient age is 57 years old, which means this technology resonates with a broad population."
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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