In today’s complex healthcare environment, patient loyalty is no longer guaranteed by quality care alone. Rising out-of-pocket costs, confusing billing statements, and a lack of transparency are pushing patients to seek alternative providers that offer a better patient payment experience.
To address these challenges, healthcare providers are investing in integrated digital payment solutions to streamline financial operations, eliminate arduous manual processes, and improve patients’ financial experiences.
The Problem: Cost Transparency and Payment Friction
Effective communication and transparency around healthcare costs are essential for improving the payment experience. According to a recent Elavon survey, 58 percent of patients are less than satisfied with the communication they received on healthcare costs and 45 percent were less than satisfied with the adequacy of information they received about their medical bills1.
For providers, inconsistent payments and administrative burdens not only contribute to revenue loss but also create a negative patient experience. Patients want upfront cost estimates, so they can prepare for and minimize the risk of unexpected bills. When healthcare costs are unclear, patients are less likely to remain loyal to their healthcare providers.
By simplifying the payment process and offering better cost transparency, healthcare providers can provide a better financial experience for patients and ultimately boost patient loyalty. How? By integrating with a payment platform that monetizes payments and billing processes.
The Solution: Leveraging New Payment Technologies and Consistent Cost Information
Choosing the right payments partner is critical to solving the top challenges that providers face. The right healthcare payment platform can provide the best omnichannel mix to appeal to a provider’s patient base. Here are a few ways an integrated payments platform can alleviate inefficiencies in healthcare and support the payment experience:
- Replace manual processes – Integrating payment systems with EHR creates a unified, streamlined experience that simplifies the payment process and helps decrease administrative burden
- Streamline workflows – Automated payment options and payment processing increase efficiency and reduce human error
- Enhance security –Robust digital security practices including point-to-point encryption (P2PE), tokenization, PCI DSS and HIPAA compliance validation, MFA, and secure payments gateways are paramount for protecting patient information
- Expand payment options – Cater to patient preferences with options like automated payments, mobile payments, and interest-free financing
Leveraging convenient payment technologies like recurring payments offers a win-win solution to both patients and providers. By enabling patients to break down large medical bills into manageable, automated monthly payments, healthcare organizations can reduce financial stress and improve payment consistency. In fact, 44% of providers surveyed are looking at tools and services to reduce time spent processing and reconciling patient payments in 2024 compared to 20232 (33%).
For healthcare organizations looking to support patient engagement and provide positive payment experiences, here are the top five opportunities to consider:
- Provide accurate cost information as soon as possible in the treatment process
- Access to online portals to communicate detailed cost information
- Improve patient education of payment options, including financing options
- Offer payment options before the service is provided
- Store preferred payment methods to facilitate efficient payments
The Future of Healthcare Payments
The future of healthcare payments lies in delivering financial experiences that are convenient, seamless, and patient-centric. Providers that successfully implement recurring payments and consistent cost information will experience better patient satisfaction, improved revenue cycles, and patient loyalty. As healthcare systems continue to evolve, the need to embrace new payment technologies is critical for providers to pave the way for a more efficient and patient-centric ecosystem.
As a leader in the financial services and healthcare industry, Elavon understands the challenges of balancing good patient care with strong business performance. To learn more about the emerging opportunities in healthcare payments, download our Healthcare Payments Insight Report.
Sources: Elavon (2024). Healthcare Payments Insight Report 2024.
