Increase Patient Collections Through Patient Financial Education

Addressing patient financial education needs can help you increase patient collections. When patients understand their medical bills, health insurance, and patient responsibility, they are much more likely to make their payments.

When patients are confused about what they owe and why, they often delay payments or don’t make them at all. Too many patients experience health insurance confusion and anger and uncertainty concerning medical bills and healthcare costs.

The following solutions by HealthWare Systems can help you improve patients’ understanding of their financial responsibility and increase patient collections:

ActiveASSIST

ActiveASSIST is our financial assistance and self-pay management solution. ActiveASSIST is a patient advocacy tool that aids staff in providing compassionate and supportive financial counseling to patients.

ActiveASSIST identifies alternative funding sources (e.g. government programs, charitable initiatives) for patients. Many patients are unaware of the various financial assistance options available, or that they may qualify. Our patient-first technology finds potential matches for them, manages the application process, and monitors documentation requirements, deadlines, and follow-up tasks.

By educating patients about their financial assistance eligibility and helping them secure funding, ActiveASSIST can leave patients with a smaller, more manageable portion of their bill to pay (or their costs may be completely covered by financial assistance).

Facilitator

As our all-in-one revenue cycle platform, Facilitator can streamline your financial assistance workflow as well.

Additionally, Facilitator generates patient estimates and determines patients’ potential out-of-pocket costs. Patients want price transparency. If patients know what costs to expect up front, they will feel better informed. They are less inclined to be upset when they receive their bill and more apt to pay it.

With Facilitator, you can also review prior balances across multiple sites, collect payments, or set up payment plans to help patients understand and resolve their financial responsibilities.

February is National Wise Health Care Consumer Month. This month we are reminded of the importance of empowering and educating patients so that they can make wise health care decisions, including wise financial decisions related to their health.

This is an opportune time to implement revenue cycle solutions that will improve patient financial education and, as a result, increase patient collections.