Along with high-quality healthcare, patients are also demanding and expecting hospitals to recognize their rights as consumers. Dan Munro, a contributor to Forbes, has listed 10 steps for healthcare organizations to make themselves more consumer-friendly.
1. Don't sue patients with overdue bills. It's far too aggressive. Mr. Munro upholds hospitals that have offered self-pay patients financial and account management resources to help them pay off debt and says this gentler approach is much more effective.
2. Don't use wage garnishment or liens on personal property to recover outstanding bills either. These strategies may not involve a lawsuit, but they are only "slight variations" to suing patients and should not be considered as alternatives.
3. Help patients understand the explanation of benefits. An EOB is a statement sent from insurers to beneficiaries, detailing what medical services were covered and explaining why any claims were denied. Mr. Munro says payors should go beyond mailing these to patients and should help them understand how much they are and when they are due. "It's an easy fix — just print it in six-point font — on the back of the real bill," he wrote.
4. Have someone answer the phone. This should be a live person who can help patients answer questions about their bill without referring them somewhere else. No one likes cyclical redirections.
5. Stop using billboards to advertise wait times for the emergency department. "I know you're in a really (really) competitive business, but my opinion of your hospital/cancer center/children's wing is not swayed one iota by a 14' x 48' billboard on the freeway next to the one for a local casino, soft drink or radio station. More than anything, it tells me you're really struggling to find ways to light up those $1,000 bills," Mr. Munro wrote.
6. Stop trying to act like a hotel. No spas, no zen gardens, no feng shui, wrote Mr. Munro. "You are not an extension to the Four Seasons — so stop trying to act like one. Use that extra space for another exam room, or sub-lease it and lower my bill."
7. Stop advertising certain services. It can be bothersome when certain conditions, like erectile dysfunction, receive more advertising coverage than others, according to Mr. Munro. "We get that it's wildly lucrative and probably funding 50 percent of your R&D budget — but it's not the only ailment affecting the country, and it's certainly not helpful in HD on televised sporting events with the whole family."
8. Find a way to make prescription prices more affordable. Medication adherence is problematic in the United States, and the affordability of drugs is the largest reason why. Healthcare organizations should work to remedy that.
9. Find ways to "cozy up" to other consumer activities. For low-acuity services, healthcare organizations should offer some flexibility in remote services. "Not everyone will be able to use services remotely — nor should all services be offered this way — but it should be an easy option for some of the low-acuity stuff."
10. Don't use offshore call centers — for anything. Hospital patients shouldn't have to call strangers in another place about something as vital as their medications, treatments or bills. "The combination of foreign accents, elderly or infirmed people (on a cocktail of medications) and complex medical terminology is enough to make us need even more meds and a double dose of behavioral health services as well," Mr. Munro wrote.
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1. Don't sue patients with overdue bills. It's far too aggressive. Mr. Munro upholds hospitals that have offered self-pay patients financial and account management resources to help them pay off debt and says this gentler approach is much more effective.
2. Don't use wage garnishment or liens on personal property to recover outstanding bills either. These strategies may not involve a lawsuit, but they are only "slight variations" to suing patients and should not be considered as alternatives.
3. Help patients understand the explanation of benefits. An EOB is a statement sent from insurers to beneficiaries, detailing what medical services were covered and explaining why any claims were denied. Mr. Munro says payors should go beyond mailing these to patients and should help them understand how much they are and when they are due. "It's an easy fix — just print it in six-point font — on the back of the real bill," he wrote.
4. Have someone answer the phone. This should be a live person who can help patients answer questions about their bill without referring them somewhere else. No one likes cyclical redirections.
5. Stop using billboards to advertise wait times for the emergency department. "I know you're in a really (really) competitive business, but my opinion of your hospital/cancer center/children's wing is not swayed one iota by a 14' x 48' billboard on the freeway next to the one for a local casino, soft drink or radio station. More than anything, it tells me you're really struggling to find ways to light up those $1,000 bills," Mr. Munro wrote.
6. Stop trying to act like a hotel. No spas, no zen gardens, no feng shui, wrote Mr. Munro. "You are not an extension to the Four Seasons — so stop trying to act like one. Use that extra space for another exam room, or sub-lease it and lower my bill."
7. Stop advertising certain services. It can be bothersome when certain conditions, like erectile dysfunction, receive more advertising coverage than others, according to Mr. Munro. "We get that it's wildly lucrative and probably funding 50 percent of your R&D budget — but it's not the only ailment affecting the country, and it's certainly not helpful in HD on televised sporting events with the whole family."
8. Find a way to make prescription prices more affordable. Medication adherence is problematic in the United States, and the affordability of drugs is the largest reason why. Healthcare organizations should work to remedy that.
9. Find ways to "cozy up" to other consumer activities. For low-acuity services, healthcare organizations should offer some flexibility in remote services. "Not everyone will be able to use services remotely — nor should all services be offered this way — but it should be an easy option for some of the low-acuity stuff."
10. Don't use offshore call centers — for anything. Hospital patients shouldn't have to call strangers in another place about something as vital as their medications, treatments or bills. "The combination of foreign accents, elderly or infirmed people (on a cocktail of medications) and complex medical terminology is enough to make us need even more meds and a double dose of behavioral health services as well," Mr. Munro wrote.
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