Only 7% of executives in the healthcare industry are currently very satisfied with the patient financial experience technology their facilities provide, and only 3% are very satisfied with the patient financial experience process, as a result of using legacy systems, fragmented solutions, and insufficient automation capabilities, according to the results of a recently released report.
When asked what the most challenging revenue cycle management touchpoints to improve the patient financial experience are, 50% said post-service collections, trailing only prior authorization (53%), and patient estimates (63%), according to the report, which was released by Waystar. Sixty percent of patients who receive an inaccurate estimate are likely to switch providers for a better care experience, according to the report.
Only 37% of facilities are utilizing digital payments as a means of improving the patient financial experience, trailing well behind helping patients verify or find insurance coverage (87%), offering a patient portal (80%), and offering paperless billing (77%).
Among the different metrics that healthcare providers use to measure the patient financial experience, the most common data points are: patient satisfaction scores (97%), clean claim rates (93%), days in total discharged not final billed (87%), pre-registration rates (83%), insurance verification rates (83%), bad debt (83%), and cash collection as a percentage of net (83%).
“Revenue from patient obligations continues to rise, and the consequences for health systems are very real,” said Dave Willis, Senior Vice President at The Health Management Academy. “Amid that backdrop, it is vital for health systems to make improvements in their patient financial experiences as part of their efforts to drive financial stability.”
