Despite the federal program put in place to assist rural critical care facilities with the challenges of funding, hospitals that qualify as Critical Access are still in trouble. In the last decade, nearly 140 rural hospitals closed their doors, a trend that has more than doubled from the decade before. The reality is that even 101% Medicare reimbursement cannot offset the cost of operations in areas with low patient volumes and little to no leverage with payers. Critical Access Hospitals must learn to help themselves, and the key is developing an effective patient financial experience.
Many organizations make the mistake of assuming that putting energy into creating a better patient financial experience only benefits patients. The truth is there is no part of a good patient financial experience that doesn’t directly pay off for the provider. Consider the first step in the admissions process, registration. Creating a streamlined and automated intake process is more convenient for patients but it also directly impacts revenue. Getting patient financial information, details on insurance coverage, and providing an accurate cost estimate engages the patient in the revenue cycle before the time of service. Providing patients with this kind of billing transparency in advance gives them time to figure out how they can pay, whether they need to seek financial assistance, and establishes a sense of financial responsibility. Streamlining these processes also relieves a lot of the administrative burden on hospital staff, who are often required to take on multiple roles due to the necessity of maintaining a small team.
Another big part of a good patient financial experience comes from providing patients the appropriate resources and tools to help themselves. Online patient portals can support the goal of convenience and transparency by giving patients access to their accounts with clear service breakdowns and the ability to make online payments— but they can do a lot more than that too. An online patient portal can be home to a variety of financial resources, providing patients information on assistance programs, access to payment estimator tools, and a means to set up payment plans. Billing management and payment collection are some of the top challenges for Critical Access Hospitals. Employing a robust patient financial portal can solve a lot of problems, cutting down on resource-intensive phone outreach or inbound calls for assistance and putting the bulk of account management into the patient’s hands.
Taking the time to build a better patient financial experience pays off, not just through improved patient relations but by establishing a comprehensive patient-driven approach to collecting revenue Critical Access Hospitals can reduce costs, improve cash flow and reduce bad debt without further burdening staff or relying solely upon reimbursement funding.
We realize many CAHs lack the access and resources of larger systems when it comes to the latest patient-centric technologies. This does not have to stop your organization from adopting these strategies. Professional offers a variety of scalable services that address the needs of systems like yours. From our early out self-pay services to collections and revenue cycle consulting, we can put together a program that fits the unique needs of your organization using our in-house resources. Learn more about Professional’s technology, including our online payment portal, here.
