Digitizing the patient intake process pays dividends down the road
In healthcare, helping patients achieve the best outcome begins with making sure they have crucial knowledge to guide healthy choices. Gathering the right information from the start is essential for patients and providers. It all begins with the patient intake process, which often means patients completing paper forms on clipboards.
When patient information is unclear or incomplete it can create challenges to providing the best care and patient experience. Healthcare practices can suffer too, such as high claim denials due to incorrect policy numbers or birthdates. In fact, Becker’s has reported a survey of 131 U.S. hospital executives in which 33 percent said their average denial rates were more than 10 percent.1
How can healthcare providers ensure patient information is accurate from the start?
Digital Delivers
“By eliminating the human error factor through the use of digital technology, data capture becomes highly accurate, consistent and complete from the start,” notes Howard Bright, Vice President, Patient Engagement, RevSpring. “This is something our customers want because they understand the considerable benefits it can deliver for both patient satisfaction and yield.”
Among the benefits digital technology is delivering in healthcare now:
Improving Patient Experience
We’ve all written our name, address and other vital information countless times within the same packet of healthcare forms. But time is saved—and patient frustration eased—when forms are prepopulated with information providers have on file. A new patient’s experience can be improved, too, when the first time they enter their information becomes the last as common information fields are prepopulated in subsequent pages of their new patient digital form packet. Not only does this improve their experience, it greatly increases the likelihood of patients completing all forms before appointments.
Eliminating Manual Entry
Busy front desk staff members often must manually enter (frequently illegible) patient information into a computer, juggling this with checking in patients, answering phone calls and more. Human errors happen, and in a world of staffing shortages and employee burnout, this process is one more difficulty for employees. When the information gathering process is digitized and automated, staff are freed to focus on patient interactions.
Ensuring Data Accuracy/Completeness
Reducing manual processes as much as possible is key to ensuring data integrity. Digital technology is playing an important and growing role in improving the patient intake and pre-service process, including:
- Digital intake forms
- Consent capture
- Insurance card capture
- Credit card information capture
- Driver’s license capture
- Document upload
- Automated patient communications
- Two-way conversational messaging
- Eligibility and patient data validation
- And even patient satisfaction surveys
New technology solutions can deliver more accuracy in all of these processes, while reducing the burden on patients and administrative staff. One example: optical character recognition (OCR), which can automatically scan documents and pull off critical data like birthdate or policy number. The OCR technology increases the quality of the collected data by transferring it directly from its original source (i.e., driver’s license, insurance cards, credit cards) to a provider’s own digitized system.
Other technology options add to a patient-friendly experience
When capturing patient information at intake, consider adding payment information to the list. Keeping a patient’s credit card information “on file” in a provider’s payment system may sound odd, yet it makes sense when considered within the larger context: patients crave effortless consumer engagement! They are familiar and comfortable, for example, with giving a credit card to a hotel upon check-in or when making a reservation. They understand the hotel will use their card to bill them for the charges they incur.
If the credit card is saved in conjunction with a copay amount or cost of service estimate, providers are empowering patients to understand how much a healthcare visit will cost them in advance. Having a card on file for automatic payments is an easy way for a patient to pay, and it’s fast and convenient for providers. It saves on the cost of sending statements too. Credit cards on file also can be used for co-pays. When linked to appointment reminder texts, staff can eliminate one more step in the check-in process.
Patient intake technologies make it possible today to replace redundant and time-wasting processes with efficient, user-friendly ones. Implementing these new technologies pays dividends down the road when backend process errors are reduced. Best of all, satisfaction is increased as patients enjoy a connected, highly accurate and consistent experience from check-in to pre- and post-service payments.
1. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/one-third-of-us-hospitals-average-denial-rates-are-in-danger-zone-survey-finds.html