A recent study commissioned by Palo Alto, Calif.-based Simplee assesses the effect of the company's patient financial care platform on healthcare organizations.
The June 2017 Total Economic Impact Of Simplee study, conducted by Forrester Consulting, examined the benefits, costs and risks associated with the platform. For the study, researchers interviewed finance and revenue cycle executives at four major health systems totaling $8.6 billion in net patient revenues and covering 27 hospitals and various other care locations. Each system has used Simplee for at least the prior three years.
Here are three findings, as reported in the study.
1. Over the three-year analysis, healthcare organizations reported $7.4 million in total risk and present value-adjusted benefits. Healthcare organizations also reported a 505 percent return on investment. According to the study, a 15 percent increase in net collections of self-pay after insurance, as well as a 21 percent decrease in overall costs — including cutting call volumes by half — helped drive the ROI.
2. Healthcare organizations saw average payback periods of three months. This was due to multiple factors, such as the ability to fully implement the platform in two to six months. Other factors cited in the study were "low up front costs, near-immediate patients adoption of online self service, and Simplee's software-as-a-service subscription-based offering."
3. The study found several healthcare organizations also reduced their reliance on third party collection agencies with the platform through increased collections via self service.
Access the full study findings here.