Patient Payment Tools to Accelerate Cash Flow

The payment process often involves small hurdles that can quickly grind cash flow to a halt for healthcare practices. Digitizing a handful of points on the patient journey can eliminate those hurdles while improving efficiency overall. Do you know all the ways you can make cash flow frictionless within your practice?

Automation

The key player in boosting the bottom line of your practice is automation. Today, practices can easily automate data collection, eligibility verification and patient collections – and not taking advantage can be costly.

Denials rates are higher each year, and they risk penalties charges and a lowered likelihood of collection with each billing attempt. Healthcare staffing is also a challenge, but lightening workloads can help attract new hires and retain valued team members.

Automation creates cleaner claims for quicker reimbursement without penalties. It also manages the repetitive tasks that weigh staff down, enabling them to engage directly with your patients. They’ll feel more fulfilled and will spend less time on clerical duties.

Pre-Verification Software

Giving patients early access to complete intake information removes the pressure of filling out forms in-office. Digital intake, completed in advance of an appointment, clears up the errors that can occur in handwritten forms. No more stalled payment because of an outdated address or phone number – pre-verification software ensures that your practice always has up-to-date patient information.

Real-Time Insurance Verification

Clearwave’s Eligibility-as-a-Service checks patients’ insurance benefits multiple times between appointment scheduling and check-in. Coverage is authenticated in real-time, in just seconds, as an appointment is scheduled. Any changes in insurance will be flagged for updates, ensuring the practice can submit a clean claim, even before the patient enters the office. Patients appreciate avoiding financial surprises and not having to reschedule an appointment due to inconsistent information. Check-in also becomes easier on staff, who know that the day’s appointments have been verified in advance.

Seamless Patient Collections

At check-in, digital patient collections allow patients to settle their portion of the financial responsibility with a card on file. Copayments and open balances are quickly presented and paid as the patient confirms their identity and checks in. Many practices previously left payment until the end of the visit, and their patients exit the office instead of waiting in a long line to pay. This can require several billing cycles to follow up, and in-person requests for payment that staff would rather avoid. Automating patient collections creates a more effortless and effective flow.

Achieve accelerated cash flow at your practice by implementing these solutions in a comprehensive patient engagement platform. Request a demo of Clearwave here.

Gain more inspiration on financial health for your healthcare practice. Click here to download our tip sheet, “Five Tips for Making Eligibility Easy and Boosting Your Bottom Line.”