Tag: patient estimates

Discover how healthcare providers can use data-driven technology to prevent surprise billing and create high-quality patient experiences.

COVID-19 provided an unexpected use case for patient portals. In a matter of weeks, the benefits of remote patient access were undeniable. Patient portals allowed patients to schedule, register and pay for care from the comfort and safety of home. Now, as the latest omicron sub-variant triggers another surge in case numbers, providers are again reminded of the value in making digital channels available to minimize face-to-face interaction. With staffing shortages continuing and patient numbers rising, it’s worth recapping the benefits of patient portals. Why should healthcare providers prioritize patient portals? Here are 7 reasons: 1. Patient portals can be used to communicate safely with patients as Covid-19 cases rise Health officials may be cautious about reinstating extreme measures in response to the latest wave of infections. However, they can’t afford to be complacent about an uptick in hospital admissions. Patient portals can mitigate the risks associated with increasing foot traffic by allowing patients to schedule and register for care without attending in person. Completing paperwork from home eliminates the need for patients to share clipboards or sit in stuffy waiting rooms, while online scheduling platforms enable staff to manage the flow of patients safely and efficiently. Remote patient monitoring, secure messaging and online prescription refill requests can also be managed via portals, further reducing the need for in-person visits. 2. They can ease pressure on understaffed teams Providers need to find efficient ways to handle the administrative workload that comes with higher patient volumes. It’s even tougher given increasing retirement and resignation figures. More nurses are embracing the occupational benefits of remote and virtual care and are opting to switch from high-stress facilities to telehealth positions. While this speaks to the growth and impact of remote healthcare, it leaves a gap to be filled in hospitals. Patient portals can alleviate some of the burdens by reducing the need for staff input at various points in the patient journey. For example, online scheduling reduces the number of calls to call centers. Pre-filled data and automated registration can reduce the risk of errors during patient intake, which are time-consuming to fix. Portals can also be used to help patients navigate the payments process, speeding up collections and reducing the time staff spend chasing payments. 3. Patient portals can address inefficient patient access workflows Because patient portals are tethered to the patient’s electronic health record (EHR), they provide a hub for every piece of data relating to the patient. Patients can access that golden record at any time. They get an engaging and transparent experience, and are less likely to call up to ask questions – they already have the answers. They can also check data to make sure that it's accurate, which helps avoid the delays and misunderstandings that cause friction for patient access teams. It's important to ensure that the portal itself doesn’t introduce friction. Patients need to be able to enroll in the portal without too much trouble. Automating the patient enrollment process and implementing a multi-layered identity-proofing solution can create a secure and efficient way for patients to get the most out of their portal, without compromising safety or efficiency. 4. To improve patient engagement and meet consumer expectations One of the biggest reasons to invest in patient portals is because patients say they want them. Research from Experian Health and PYMNTS found that 44.1% of patients have obtained test results through patient portals, while 18% used patient portals to fill out forms for their most recent healthcare visit. Overall, two-thirds said they use patient portals. Beyond offering a convenient patient experience, this is also a matter of patient loyalty and retention: 61% of patients say they’d consider switching providers to one that offered a patient portal, which could have a significant impact on revenue. 5. They can boost revenue by offering easy ways to pay Experian and PYMNTS research shows that around a fifth of patients uses their portal to make payments. Unfortunately, 16% of those patients said they’d faced difficulty viewing invoices, setting up payment plans and making payments through their portal, which suggests some room for improvement. Experian Health’s Patient Payment Solutions solves these challenges. A range of self-service, mobile-optimized tools simplify the patient financial journey by giving patients upfront pricing estimates, personalized payment plans and easy ways to pay. 6. Using patient portals can improve health outcomes (especially for “frequent flyers”) Patient portals also play an important role in promoting better health outcomes for patients. Research shows that when patients have access to their medical information, they feel empowered and prepared to speak to their doctor and adhere to care strategies. Multiple providers can engage with the patient through the same platform, and see what other treatments are being prescribed. This helps improve communication between the patient and provider and helps improve care management. It’s especially useful for older patients and those with chronic conditions. In this way, portals support effective care coordination, helping value-based care providers achieve their goals of reducing healthcare costs, promoting population health and closing the gaps in care that have widened over the last few years. 7. Patient portals can support compliance with price transparency regulations Finally, portals offer a route to ensuring compliance with new regulatory requirements around price transparency. The No Surprises Act and hospital price transparency rule call on providers to give patients accurate, upfront cost estimates so they can plan for their financial responsibility more easily. Patient Payment Estimates can be delivered in several ways, including through patient portals. And as noted, once the patient has their estimate, they can also be directed to easy and convenient payment methods, including through their portal. Whether it’s a surge in COVID-19 cases, rising inflation, or labor shortages, providers must find ways to build resilience, stay competitive, and continue to offer patients the flexible and transparent healthcare experience they desire. Patient portals should be part of the plan to open the digital front door. Contact us to find out how Experian Health helps healthcare organizations deliver a reliable and secure patient portal experience.

Consumer-centric digital technology struggled to disrupt healthcare as it had in other sectors – until the pandemic made it non-negotiable. Now, healthcare providers must double down on their commitment to digital patient access or risk losing patients to competitors. In a recent interview with PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster, Experian Health's President Tom Cox reflected on the findings of joint research conducted by the two organizations, which looked at how consumers are using digital tools to access care. He recommends five strategies to transform the patient journey in line with consumer expectations. 1. “Think like your kids and your parents.” Cox says the first strategy is for healthcare leaders to put themselves in the shoes of both "digital-first" and "digital-necessary" generations (with the "digital-first" persona referring to individuals who prefer using digital methods for at least five healthcare activities). Millenials and Gen Z generations lean toward a digital-first approach, having grown up with the ability to access information at the touch of a button. But Cox notes that older generations with multiple health conditions are also embracing digital tools for more convenient access to healthcare. "If you're a frequent user of the healthcare system, then you most likely will invest in using an app or digital tools. Younger generations have grown up with digital access, so that's just where they go first... They're both driving [healthcare organizations] to digital solutions, which are clearly where the future in healthcare is headed from a convenience and access perspective." Healthcare providers must recognize the needs and preferences of both ends of the demographic spectrum and identify ways to deliver convenience and choice to all consumers. 2. "Anticipate the needs of digital-first customers." Overall, one-third of patients chose to fill out forms for their most recent healthcare visit using digital methods. Cox observes that “digital-first consumers are digital-first patients.” They gravitate toward convenient digital solutions that allow them to skip administrative “relics,” such as waiting room clipboards and filling out paperwork online before they attend. Providers should consider offering online scheduling software and self-service registration so consumers can complete these tasks from home. Cox notes that enabling self-service in patient access is a win for providers too, particularly as the Great Resignation puts pressure on understaffed teams. 3. "Outsource payments to the patient." The third strategy continues the self-service theme, with the ability to pay for medical care online before a visit. Cox says there is still a “great divide between what people want and what they can actually experience.” Digital-first patients want to be able to pay online, but not a lot of patients do so currently.Cox says it's all about removing friction.  He says, “I will just tell you for myself as a patient, I much prefer to pay before I get there. Or I'd like to pay when I leave so that I don't have to get the bill. If I do get the bill, I want to be able to pay online. What I don't want is to fill out the slip with a check — the worst — or my credit card information and mail it to someone.”Moving payments to the front end of the process is not only more convenient for patients, it can also speed up collection rates for providers. Experian Health's patient payment tools help providers offer patients the 24/7, self-service, mobile-optimized payment experience they're looking for. These tools allow payments to be collected anytime, anywhere and connect patients to information about financial assistance and personalized payment plans. 4. “Provide accurate and timely estimates.” A fourth way to transform the patient experience is to provide upfront, clear and accurate estimates of the patients' likely out-of-pocket expenses. According to the research, nearly 85% of patients are highly satisfied with their care experience, but that satisfaction dropped among patients who did not know cost estimates in advance of treatment. 15% percent of patients said they run into difficulty when trying to get accurate cost estimates before coming in for care. Cox says that price transparency should top the agenda for healthcare providers: “Before we ask anyone to commit to a purchase, we should give them [an idea of] how much it's going to cost… In healthcare, oftentimes you make the purchase decision without any knowledge of how much it's going to cost. And then a lot of times people end up in tough situations. ”Determining accurate estimates is a complicated process, but consumer demand and regulatory change are increasing pressure on providers to find better solutions. Effective price transparency improves patient engagement, increases collections before and at the point of service, and reduces the total cost to collect. One way to achieve this is with Experian Health's Patient Estimates and Patient Financial Advisor tools, which generate accurate estimates of patient responsibility and communicates to them in a quick and convenient manner, so they can start to plan for their bills. 5. "Use digital tools to foster patient loyalty." Finally, providers must pay attention to the fact that patient loyalty is increasingly tied to the availability of digital healthcare solutions. According to the research, 61% of patients with an interest in using patient portals said they’d consider switching to a provider that makes one available.Cox says that for patients, “the easiest thing to measure in healthcare is convenience, so we're seeing people use convenience as the key criteria in decision making.” He says that if providers want to engage with commercially insured consumers, they’ll need to embrace digital tools that prioritize convenience for patients and ease friction throughout the patient journey. Download the full report for more insights into healthcare's digital transformation and opportunities to make better use of digital tools to improve patient engagement.

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Earlier this year, Experian Health teamed up with PYMNTS to ask more than 2300 consumers about their digital healthcare habits. The results confirmed that consumers are eager to use digital channels, but still experience challenges in finding options that meet their expectations. The Digital Healthcare Gap: Streamlining the Patient Journey examines how healthcare providers currently use digital tools to allow patients to book appointments, obtain test results and make payments. It also examines how providers are closing gaps. This article summarizes the key insights that will help providers create a seamless digital experience and improve patient engagement. Download the report to get the full study, and to learn how healthcare providers are using digital channels to improve care and drive engagement. How are healthcare providers using digital channels to streamline access to care? While most patients still prefer to interact with healthcare providers in person or by phone, digital methods are increasingly popular. For example, Experian and PYMNTS data show that: 1 in 5 patients used digital channels to schedule appointments within the previous year. 1 in 3 patients used patient portals to fill out registration forms. 1 in 4 patients used digital methods to pay for healthcare. Urgent care patients were the most likely to schedule appointments online, with 17% using patient portals, 16% scheduling directly through practice websites and 5% booking by text message. Patient portals were also the most popular digital channel among patients booking appointments with family practices. These insights suggest that patients want on-demand patient access and a range of options to book, register and pay for care in a way that’s most convenient for them. When they have that choice, many opt for digital methods, though results vary by type of provider. Patient portals are emerging as the most popular channel because they allow patients to securely access and manage their healthcare information in one place, whenever and wherever they like. Missed us at the MUSE Inspire Conference? Contact us for more conversations about opening healthcare’s digital front door. How can providers better engage patients using digital healthcare solutions? Despite their enthusiasm, many patients run into challenges when using patient portals, especially when making payments. Obtaining accurate cost estimates before coming in for care was a major pain point for 15% of patients surveyed. Portals are an obvious solution, but only 24% of patients said they had access to portals that include this feature. Even among those patients with access to “estimate-enabled” portals, only 6% said they knew their out-of-pocket costs in advance, which may point to communication or usability issues. The ability to receive cost estimates in advance of treatment has a major impact on how satisfied patients feel with their overall care experience. Nearly 85% of patients said they were satisfied with their care, but those who did not receive cost estimates for their most recent appointments tended to be less satisfied. The portion of urgent care patients satisfied with their experience dropped to 74% when out-of-pocket expenses weren’t known in advance. Experian Health’s Patient Estimates can help address these gaps. This web-based pricing tool gives patients accurate cost estimates before their treatment and offers advice for financial assistance and charity options. Patient Financial Advisor complements this by delivering pre-service estimates of the patient’s responsibility straight to their mobile devices. With this solution, patients get a text message with a secure link to their cost estimates and payment options. Providers that offer a convenient and transparent financial experience through these types of digital tools are likely to see improved patient engagement and more efficient patient collections. Tom Cox, President of Experian Health, says that digitally-enabled convenience is the secret to better patient engagement. “Patients are consumers before they are patients. They may not be experts in medicine, but when it comes to convenient and efficient scheduling, registration, estimates, payments, communication, and flexible delivery of these services, the consumer becomes the de facto expert. Healthcare is quickly approaching the point where a standard of convenience and ease of use – primarily delivered via digital tools ­– will result in patient attrition for those failing to meet the standard. The ’innovation’ needed is to reach parity with the experiences consumers have in their other service interactions.” “Healthcare is quickly approaching the point where a standard of convenience and ease of use – primarily delivered via digital tools ­– will result in patient attrition for those failing to meet the standard.” - Tom Cox, President at Experian Health How can digital healthcare solutions attract and retain new patients? The research also found that opening the digital front door can supercharge efforts to attract new patients. 3 in 10 patients use digital methods to find and select providers, with 1 in 10 using online reviews as part of their search. Nearly 2 in 10 struggle to find the professionals they need. Building a consistent online presence can help increase providers’ “discoverability” and signal a commitment to digital healthcare that so many patients desire. Providers that offer easy and reliable digital tools are also going to be more likely to attract and retain new patients. With 20% of patients saying portals are complicated to use, and 13% saying they lack functionality, providers that offer streamlined digital services are going to be more attractive. Building on the existing momentum with online self-scheduling and self-service patient registration can make it easier for patients to choose and register with new providers. Cox recognizes that digital solutions are not a simple fix – but worth the effort. “As consumers, we take something like scheduling for granted. What goes on behind the scenes is pretty complicated, however. In the case of scheduling a medical visit, there are specific time slots, physician schedules, how to address cancellations and the need for referrals, among many other variables.... It can be challenging for a healthcare provider to aggregate disparate data into a digital tool that’s easy for patients to engage with. That’s why solution partners like Experian Health are critical to help deliver a better patient experience.” Find out more about how Experian Health’s tried and tested digital tools can help providers streamline the patient journey.  

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