[Shocking] 90% of Providers use Paper and Manual Processes for Patient Collections

It indeed sounds unbelievable that nearly 90% of the healthcare providers still use paper billing methods for collections even though it leads to a slower rate of collection.

Furthermore, more often than not, the collection is unsuccessful. The Healthcare Payments report by InstaMed revealed shocking statistics.

The financial responsibility of patients is increasing with time.

Thus, it is natural for providers to be stressed about collection strategies. According to a study, nearly 67% of providers were seriously concerned about their revenue cycle.

The Main Issue

The primary problem is that the providers do not collect financial responsibility from the patients at the right time. According to a survey, quite a lot of providers take nearly a month to collect payments while 81% of providers stated that they failed to receive over $1000 in a month.

The healthcare providers have to collect a higher amount from patients owing to the increase in payment responsibility for the medical bills. Despite these staggering figures, the providers continue to use paper billing methods to make their collections. They do not seem to realize that the digital route can make things easier for them to a large extent.

Using digital innovation, they can improve payment collection and enhance the customer experience.

If collection strategies are modernized, patients will have a more convenient option for meeting the payments timely. Thus, not only would this approach be beneficial for the providers but will make the whole process easier for the patients as well.

According to a survey by InstaMed, the medical bill confused nearly 70% of consumers. 88% of patients wanted the information about financial responsibility upfront. The demand for online estimation tool was put forth by 81% of people while 71% of people were willing to enroll in electronic statements by the provider.

As per the data of InstaMed, the percentage of online payments made by patients has also increased drastically from 2015 to 2018. Thus, it is apparent that the consumers of healthcare are looking for more effective and convenient means of collection.

However, despite all this, the providers are paying heed to what the consumer wants and continue to cling to conventional methods.

Many providers do not offer the option of electronic statements or automatic payments.

Furthermore, quite a lot of providers also fail in determining the financial responsibility of a patient during his hospital visit.

A crucial step

If patient collections are to be improved, it is vital to get rid of paper processes. The hospitals that offer enhanced customer service to their patients have better net margins compared to other facilities.

Furthermore, if a hospital ensures that financial experience of a customer is improved, they can gain their loyalty, which inadvertently enhances revenue.

The digital route can increase the return on investment significantly. The whole billing system can be transformed by eliminating the manual process of billing.

Healthcare seems to be one of the few industries that use paper processes for billings. Providers can save quite a lot and increase their revenue by going digital.

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