Patient Payment Solutions Not Living Up to Provider Expectations

Most providers have seen an implementation of a patient payment solution over the past five years. However, 30 percent felt the implementations were not successful and only 58 percent reported high satisfaction with their current patient payments solution, according to new data from Bank of America.

Bank of America and The Strawhecker Group (TSG) recently surveyed over 650 healthcare providers in the US to understand their experiences with patient payment solutions. What they found was a gap between what patient payment solutions are doing and provider expectations.

In addition to generally low satisfaction rates, healthcare providers agreed that patient payment platforms and solutions need to be easier to use for patients, have better terminal functionality, and add other digital payment forms like Apply Pay. Patient payment solutions also need to better integrate with existing software and patient collections workflows, healthcare providers told Bank of America and TSG.

Only a third of healthcare providers said they have patient payment solutions that are fully integrated with their EHR system or revenue cycle software. Additionally, 58 percent felt patient payment solutions could improve the “seamlessness” of their current systems.

Healthcare providers responding to the survey also said they want patient payment solutions to ensure patient privacy and HIPAA compliance, as well as data safety. Improved efficiencies, cost reductions, and increased patient satisfaction were also at the top of their list of patient payment solutions improvements.

As healthcare providers look to implement or replace patient payment solutions, having a trusted partner is key. The data found that 78 percent of providers would feel confident in a solution provided by a bank, and 68 percent would feel more confident if the solution came from a “sizeable financial brand.”

Having systems in place to collect patient payments is vital as patient financial responsibility increases. More patients with employer-sponsored health insurance must meet a deductible before more generous coverage of healthcare services kicks in. That amount has also increased 61 percent since 2012, with the latest average annual deductible for a single person now standing at $1,763, according to Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2022 KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey.

As patients owe more out of pocket for medical services, healthcare providers have had to retool their collection workflows, putting more emphasis on patient collections versus payer collections. Now, as inflation and the general downturn in the economy hits home, ensuring patient collection workflows are in place and working properly is especially critical for provider revenue cycles.

Leveraging technology is top of mind for provider revenue cycle leaders looking to improve patient collections.

More providers are planning to invest in revenue cycle management technology to drive cash collections and address the “labor-intensive nature of revenue cycle processes,” KLAS and Bain & Company report.

Bank of America and TSG found that over half of providers (54 percent) of healthcare providers were also interested in email or text payment notifications, and 43 percent were interested in automated digital payments. While text-to-pay and other digital payment options are gaining in popularity, patient payment solutions may also benefit from making medical bills easier to understand so patients know exactly what they are paying for and how to pay.