Patient financial engagement has become increasingly important at hospitals and health systems, as Americans have become financially responsible for a larger portion of their medical bills.
Like other health systems, Integris in Oklahoma City was struggling to deliver the consumer-friendly and easy billing experience many patients have come to expect.
That's why Integris, a 13-hospital nonprofit health system, this year embarked on a systemwide effort to reassess its financial engagement strategy.
Mike Weed, senior vice president of financial operations at Integris, said the effort was primarily driven by the importance of focusing on the overall patient experience by not only providing an exceptional clinical care experience, but also improving the financial experience for patients in a way that allows the health system to maximize patient collections.
While Integris Health already provided great clinical care and a great experience for the patient, the organization increasingly realized the importance of the billing piece of the patient's care experience, said Mr. Weed. "For me it's extending the care not just from the clinical side but thinking about the patient really from start to finish, registration to when they receive and have to pay their bill, working with them and including that in the patient experience overall."
The financial engagement strategy
The implementation of Integris Health's new financial engagement strategy began at the top. About two years ago, the health system brought in new revenue cycle leadership, and Integris named Timothy Pehrson its new president and CEO in June 2018.
Since Mr. Pehrson came on board, the culture at the organization has been focused on evidence-based care, the overall patient experience, including the financial experience, and providing exceptional care to patients from all aspects, Mr. Weed said.
"That's where I've seen the focus," he added. "We've really dug into understanding the performance of our revenue cycle, understanding where we have opportunity [for improvement]. I think recognizing how much of our payments are required to come from the patients has caused us to change this mind shift and really start thinking again first and foremost about the overall patient experience."
Mr. Weed said the health system sought out new online technologies that many consumers are used to in banking and other industries. The health system wanted a platform that could help patients understand their financial obligation and enable them to make payments based on their individual needs and situations. Integris found a platform with these capacities that also offered intelligent analytics capable of leveraging existing guarantor data to help the health system understand what patients need and expect.
After choosing VisitPay's solution in February, Integris implemented the technology completely in 120 days.
To date, Integris has registered about 11,000 patients to a digital self-service portal due to the efforts of the health system's marketing and communications team. Additionally, the platform processed more than $1 million in payments in September, and 28 percent of total patient collections is now being paid through the portal.
"It's allowing the patient the ability to self-serve and determine their own payment plans," said Mr. Weed. "They not only see their bill, but [the portal] also pulls in their explanation of benefits so they can match their bill to their benefit explanation to better understand their payment obligation. It's allowing the patients to have more confidence to pay their bills more quickly and timely."
He hopes to see a steady upward trend of 25,000-plus patients utilizing the tool within a year.
Key takeaways
Like Integris, other health systems are reconsidering their patient financial engagement strategy. Mr. Weed said hospital revenue cycle leaders at these organizations should understand that patients have more direct financial responsibility for care than in years past. It's important to not only do a good job caring for patients but also offer a more transparent and convenient financial experience.
"The patient-as-payer era has changed the rules of the game. Health systems need to recognize that the financial experience is a healthcare experience," he wrote in an article about the efforts at Integris. "Our mission is no longer just clinical care, but overall care, including financial wellbeing. Fortunately, the challenges patients and health systems face today have real and enduring solutions."