Have the scales finally tipped in favor of text messaging as the most preferred form of communication among consumers? The number of consumers who are interested in receiving text message billing notifications from their healthcare provider increased to 59% in 2023, from 45% a year earlier, according to data released last week.
A copy of the report detailing trends in patient payment communications can be accessed by clicking here.
Not only do more consumers want billing notifications sent by text message, but more consumers said that receiving those text messages would make them more likely to pay. Fifty-one percent of consumers said they would be prompted to pay their bills faster if they received a payment reminder text message, up from 34% a year ago. “Text message reminders are becoming more ubiquitous in other service and retail industries,” the report indicates. “Secure and custom text message notifications could be an effective way for healthcare providers to encourage timely payments.”
Email and text messages were the two most popular channels consumers chose as the best places to receive healthcare payment or new balance notifications, compared with traditional communication channels like phone calls and paper statements.
Consistent with last year, nearly two-thirds of consumers are using a patient portal to make payments on their medical bills, dramatically outpacing other payment gateways like sending in checks (11%, down from 17%), making a payment over the phone (11%, down from 10%), or using an IVR (8%, up from 6%).
More than one-third of respondents said they would consider switching healthcare providers due to a poor billing experience.
