Articles

Discover 6 Key Strategies to Enhance Patient Account Resolution and the Patient Financial Experience

Sep 17, 2024

Managing a healthcare business can be challenging. Providers must navigate changing regulations, rising costs, and delays in collecting payments. However, while some market forces are out of their control, there are steps healthcare providers can take to improve business outcomes.

It’s in the hands of healthcare providers to lead these changes and make collections processes more patient-friendly and efficient, thereby enhancing the patient financial experience and satisfaction.

Improving Patient Account Resolution

Healthcare providers face obstacles every day in trying to gain control of patient account resolution. Patients who sign up for high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) face greater responsibilities, which can delay payments. The high cost of healthcare has proved so burdensome to patients that collection rates dropped by nearly 48% in 2022 and 2023, leaving providers to write off an increasing amount of bad debt from patients with insurance.

Below are six strategies that not only optimize collection processes and boost financial outcomes but also significantly enhance patient satisfaction.

6 Ways to Improve Patient Account Resolution and the Patient Financial Experience

1. Improve Patient Communication. Clear communication is essential to improving patient satisfaction. First, educate patients about their financial responsibilities before the first bill is sent. Use clear, concise, patient-friendly language in all billing communication. Finally, ensure knowledgeable and compassionate representatives are on hand to assist with any questions or challenges throughout the billing process.

2. Offer Flexible Payment Options and Advocate for Alternate Financial Solutions. Help patients navigate their healthcare billing journey by implementing various payment options and financing. Offer different payment plans and methods, including online portals, mobile payment options, and third-party financing options.

Advocacy also plays a crucial role in helping patients navigate the often complex financial landscape of healthcare. By actively seeking out financial assistance programs, insurance reimbursements, or alternative funding sources, patient advocates can alleviate much of the burden patients face when trying to cover their medical expenses. Going above and beyond in this case—by not only identifying available resources but also guiding patients through the application processes—ensures that more individuals can access the treatments they need without delays or financial strain. This level of support fosters trust and strengthens the patient-provider relationship, ultimately enhancing the patient financial experience and facilitating smoother payment resolution.

3. Optimize the Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) Process. Infuse efficiency into RCM processes that track patient care activity. Streamline billing and collections workflows to improve cash flow, empowering you to grow your business confidently.

4. Enhance Patient Engagement. Be proactive in engaging with patients to ensure long-lasting relationships and trust. Implement pre-service financial counseling, leverage patient portals, and increase pricing transparency.

5. Leverage Automated Technologies. Use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to predict and manage patient payment behavior. Implement automated reminders and follow-ups to encourage prompt payments.

6. Beef up Staff Training and Accountability. Schedule regular training sessions to educate staff about best practices for interacting with patients and managing collections. Develop clear performance metrics and accountability standards.

Solving for Patient Account Resolution Challenges

While healthcare providers face numerous challenges in improving collections rates and patient satisfaction, there are steps they can take to support patients in their healthcare journey and enhance the patient collections experience. By improving communication, offering more clear, flexible ways to pay, and adopting best-of-breed billing platforms, healthcare providers can optimize the patient experience and business outcomes.

Karie Bostwick

VP of People and Compliance

As VP of People and Compliance at Revenue Enterprises, Karie Bostwick oversees People functions including recruiting, training, onboarding, engagement and satisfaction. Additionally, she is responsible for compliance training, oversight and monitoring.

Karie has a long history of working in the revenue cycle support industry. Her skills span leadership, operations start up, policies and procedures development, operations workflow, budgeting and client management.

She is passionate about the experience of our people, patients and the Healthcare clients we serve and believes that a team of diverse, talented and motivated individuals working together toward a common goal can make a difference.

Robert Sterett

VP of Information Technology

As a transformational leader Robert Sterrett has leveraged his 20 years of experience to build effective service lines and exceptional teams. In his role as VP of Information Technology at Revenue Enterprises, Robert excels at taking a unique, balanced, and strategic approach to technology leadership with people first for the best possible outcome. Using his experience from engineering, project management and service line management he takes a multi-faceted approach to ensure the right people are in the correct position coupled with the best technology to meet or exceed all expectations from security to compliance and business continuity.

Robert’s leadership style lends itself to building long term relationships and has consistently been a relied upon strength in many organizations. Over Robert’s time as an IT operational and project leader, he has spent significant time in both hands-on technology facing roles and client centric management roles to bring the best solutions that strive to meet the business and client needs.

Focusing heavily on his personal development skills and opportunities, Robert continues to foster coaching and mentorship relationships everywhere in his life, and the lives around him.

Douglas Dunbar

VP of Sales & Marketing

As VP of Sales and Marketing for Revenue Enterprises, Douglas Dunbar leads with a passion for building strategic partnerships, nurturing relationships, and upholding customer service excellence. In his role, Doug focuses on marketing and brand strategy, sales team leadership, and working closely with members of the management team to best serve company goals.

Doug has over 28 years of National sales and marketing call/contact center leadership, with 10 years of service specifically at Revenue Enterprises. Currently, Doug serves as part of Wyoming HFMA Chapter leadership and has held various roles in Colorado HFMA Chapter leadership for over 9 years.

In his spare time, Doug is very family oriented. Additionally, he loves traveling, cycling, golfing, fishing, hunting, and boating.

Kris Brumley, MBA

SVP/COO

As SVP/COO of Revenue Enterprises, Kris Brumley is a collaborative partner within the executive team and a leader for operational functions across the organization. Kris productively shares vision, drives innovation, and supports those around her in a way that elevates them and fosters continuous improvement and results. She has helped create a supportive environment for clients resulting in 98% client retention and a 65% NPS score for all clients and 75% for top clients by revenue.

Kris possesses an MBA in data analytics and has twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare industry, with 19 specifically in revenue cycle. She brings a wealth of customer service experience to her role and has worn many hats at Revenue Enterprises including Director of Business Development, EBO Division Director, and VP of Client Experience Management.

In her personal life, Kris is as busy outside of work as inside. She values spending time with her family, and enjoys fishing, hiking, traveling and interior decorating and design.

Timothy (Tim) Brainerd

CEO

As CEO of Revenue Enterprises for almost 20 years, Tim Brainerd leads by example. He promotes a shared vision and stewards a culture of Integrity, Passion, and Respect. He has assembled and empowered high-performing talent and teams to support customers, facilitate strategic planning and manage the capital of the company. Under his leadership, Revenue Enterprises has doubled in size three times over the past fifteen years while maintaining a culture of caring and gratefulness.

Tim has close to four decades of revenue cycle experience, including nineteen years with RSI
Enterprises. He has been a past president of Colorado Chapter of the HFMA and a presenting speaker on the topic of Leadership. He is a fifteen-year member of Vistage International, the world’s largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize business leaders.

Raised in the Midwest, Tim values humble principles like being respectful, caring, passionate, self-reliant, and most importantly grateful. His most important lesson and the lesson he hopes to pass on in all relationships is living the Golden Rule–do unto others as you would have them do unto you. He is intentional in his choices and believes in making decisions, taking action, being accountable, and loving your neighbors.

Whenever possible, Tim spends his time with his wife of nearly forty years, his adult children, and his grandchildren. His hobbies include fishing, golfing, traveling as well as game nights and sharing great food with his family.