New service helps patients understand their financial obligations and make payments with ease
MedEvolve, Inc., a leading provider of data-driven solutions that provide unmatched transparency, automation and accountability for healthcare organizations, announced the opening of its U.S.-based Patient Financial Engagement Services aimed at helping physicians improve patient experiences and capture more revenue. The new technology-enabled services will offer patient financial counseling services for physician groups along with mobile engagement services and a variety of digital payment options.
“We believe patients deserve the same high level of care for their financial well-being as they can expect for their health. At the same time, physician practices are facing some of the tightest operational margins in decades and need solutions that help them increase profitability and maximize revenue capture”
The offering is in response to increasing difficulties for providers and patients amid continued growth of high deductible health plans (HDHPs) and greater patient financial responsibility. According to a recent report by Pitchbook, providers currently only collect 55% of what is owed by patients. Additionally, the report revealed that “collecting patient payments costs roughly four times more than collecting from an insurance company.”
“Patients who have previously relied on insurers to cover their healthcare are now faced with greater financial responsibility. They often need guidance to understand how HDHPs work and how much they owe,” said Todd Greer, CEO for Premier Gastroenterology Associates. “The MedEvolve financial counseling service provides an important liaison for our practice, improving patient financial experiences and helping us better capture revenue while simultaneously streamlining workflows so we can focus on healthcare.”
The new Patient Financial Engagement Services provide trained, empathetic counselors who proactively engage with patients via phone, text and email to help them understand their bills, their financial responsibility and offer payment options – including payment plans and discounts when immediate payment is not an option. The service center also takes incoming patient phone calls regarding patient statements on behalf of physician groups. The services help providers increase patient revenue while driving down overhead and hard collection costs associated with manning phones and patient outreach. More importantly, the services help patients understand their often-confusing medical bills.
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Providers who continue to use in-house staff to reach out to patients by phone or send paper statements are realizing lackluster return on investment, partially due to the nature of communication preferences today. A recent Trends in Healthcare Payments report suggests that 85% of consumers prefer an electronic payment for medical bills. MedEvolve’s Patient Financial Engagement Services are equipped with secure technology to identify collectible balances and proactively follow up using the patients’ preferred communication method and offer convenient payment options, including web, text and phone.
“We believe patients deserve the same high level of care for their financial well-being as they can expect for their health. At the same time, physician practices are facing some of the tightest operational margins in decades and need solutions that help them increase profitability and maximize revenue capture,” said Matt Rolfes, Chief Executive Officer of MedEvolve. “Our new Patient Financial Engagement Services address both needs by improving provider-patient partnerships and bottom-line performance.”
