According to Healthcare Finance News, more than half of provider bills don’t get paid. And for every dollar billed to patients, providers have historically failed to collect 65 cents. Providers are experts at managing insurance reimbursement, but collecting self-pay dollars is a different story. With the average annual deductible for covered workers increasing 255% since 2006 and projected to continue this growth trajectory, providers are faced with a daunting challenge to remain profitable.

It’s a trend that’s not reversing – and it’s causing distress for families and CEOs alike.

In a new paper, published by Ontario Systems, this issue is broken into five sections:

  1. Understand and Leverage Your Patients’ Financial Profile
  2. Create More and Better Options to Connect with Your Patients
  3. Maintain a Holistic View of Your Patients’ Activities
  4. Communicate Early and Proactively
  5. Listen

Here is an excerpt from the whitepaper:

2016-07 Ontario Tackling Self-Pay Thumbnail#1 Understand and Leverage Your Patients’ Financial Profile

Every day, more patients come through healthcare provider doors with a self-pay balance than the day before. That’s an undeniable truth, a trend that shows no sign of slowing. Managing your growing self-pay portfolio means continuously evaluating each account so you can talk with patients on mutually-agreeable terms and collect patient payment as quickly as possible.

For many years our industry treated every patient balance the same and worked payment accounts with a broad-brush strategy. Today, providers can use sophisticated technology to determine the patient’s ability to pay and define workflow that automatically and effectively connects with the patient where and when they choose.

How? Robust analytics enable providers to accurately score accounts so your entire portfolio can be segmented and paired with an efficient collection strategy and workflow. Patients prefer to pay in different ways: Some like dealing with a billing specialist directly over the phone, some remit payment with a check in the mail and others prefer self-service options via IVR (Interactive Voice Response) and online portal. The most effective operations make contact with the right patients, at the right time, in the right manner to maintain efficient use of resources, and maximize revenue. That reduces cost to collect, increases recovery and positively impacts patient satisfaction.

Download the paper here.


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