RCM tip of the day: Share personalized information during initial payment conversations

Initial payment conversations between hospital staff and patients should occur at registration and involve sharing personalized information with consumers, advised David Shelton, CEO of PatientMatters, a revenue cycle management vendor.

Advertisement

He said these face-to-face payment conversations can be vague and may not involve sharing of personalized information, which can lead to patient dissatisfaction, staff frustration and low point-of-service collections.

But he recommended a different approach.

“By empowering registration staff with patient-tailored workflows, scripting and training, they will be prepared to engage with each patient based on their personal financial situation and effectively explain available payment options to help patients make educated financial decisions from the very start of the interaction,” said Mr. Shelton. “This patient-tailored communication approach not only improves staff productivity and patient satisfaction, but also increases POS cash collections.”

If you would like to share your RCM best practices, please email Kelly Gooch at kgooch@beckershealthcare.com to be featured in the “RCM tip of the day” series.

 

More articles on healthcare finance: 

Medicare public option would ‘compound financial stresses’ of hospitals, industry report says
Most Trump Medicare cuts would affect health providers — not seniors, analysis shows
Progress slow in adopting population health finance models, survey finds

 

At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.

Advertisement

Next Up in Financial Management

Advertisement

Comments are closed.