In today’s healthcare environment, patient financial responsibility has increased dramatically — their higher level of investment in their own care has transformed hospital patients into knowledgeable consumers, and hospital care to more a commodity. Due to this increase in cost patients now expect a high-quality experience. Making their satisfaction with a trip to their provider much more important.
Traditionally, patient experience has been perceived as something only the facilities, providers and clinical staff can impact. However, since a patient’s first contact is with registration and their last follow up comes from billing, it's vital that an organization’s revenue cycle is also on board with providing a satisfactory patient experience. The patient experience begins and ends with different functions of the revenue cycle, and it's an opportunity for healthcare organizations to engage, educate, and foster goodwill with their patients.
By tying a percentage of reimbursement to patient experience and satisfaction, value-based reimbursement programs have a profound impact your on cash flow and financial risk.
If a patient receives life-saving treatment but has a horrible experience trying to resolve their bill, your reimbursement is at jeopardy. Operational, and financial aspects of a patient encounter are just as important as the clinical aspects — as all functions become integrated into payment, it’s important for the revenue cycle to be aware of their role in the overall patient experience.
In an era of high deductible plans, patients have become very familiar with copays and remaining balances after insurance pays their portion for healthcare services. Healthcare organizations who focus on providing a positive patient experience understand the interconnectedness of care and revenue. Engaging patients on their potential financial responsibilities before, during, and after their encounter will increase the likelihood of payment and a positive patient experience. An engagement strategy of early and often sets up both the patient and healthcare organization for success. Collecting payment before treatment at a discounted rate or offering payment plans is a revenue cycle best practice. Once the patient is discharged your chance of receiving payment goes down significantly.