Health IT Answers features insights from Ryne Natzke, Senior Vice President of Growth and Strategy, Sphere

Read the full article: Patient Engagement is the Key to Improving Provider Collections

Here is an excerpt:

Patient collections have long been among the most significant operational and financial headaches for medical providers – resulting in lost time and money.

For example, patient collections take more than a month for 74% of providers, according to a recent survey. For two-thirds of providers, patient receivables represent their primary revenue concern.

Many of providers’ challenges associated with collections stem from the “patient-as-a-payer” trend, in which patients have been forced to assume a greater proportion of their own medical bills due to a range of factors such as the proliferation of high-deductible health plans. In the survey, 65% of providers said they have seen an increase in patient financial responsibility.

However, there is another less-obvious culprit that creates additional difficulties with patient collections: manual, paper-based processes. In many ways, healthcare has failed to maintain pace with the technological advances in other industries, and the numbers tell the story: 88% of providers reported relying on manual and paper-based transactions to collect patient financial responsibility, 73% of providers use paper and manual processes for check-in, and only 23% of providers offer electronic statements, according to the survey.

In short, providers’ inability to engage patients is costing them. Patient engagement primarily depends on two factors – making time to understand patient needs, then connecting patients with the resources that fulfill those needs.