Q&A: How Digital Self-Service Makes a Difference for Patients and Providers

Anyone who’s ever received a medical bill knows the headache of paying it. And any RCM employee working with patients knows the dissatisfaction they often experience. With the increase in the consumerization of healthcare, and the continued workforce shortage plaguing the industry, tackling the patient billing issue should be top of mind for providers. Improving patients’ financial experience is a must right now, as patient satisfaction and loyalty are some of the best ways to stand out in the increasingly crowded healthcare ecosystem.

With the launch of their latest solution, R1 and Cloudmed are offering a superior and holistic patient financial experience through integrated tech-driven managed services to tackle these issues head on.

Will Reilly, vice president of marketing at R1, interviewed Kyle Hicok, president at Cloudmed, and Chris Hartemayer, executive vice president of patient operations and commercial solutions at R1, about the need for innovation in healthcare payments and digital self-service’s unique benefits.

Will: Describe the patient billing experience right now. What problems are patients experiencing?

Chris: No single word describes the current patient experience better than “confusing.” As any patient knows, it’s difficult to figure out what you actually owe – bills are complex and full of cryptic acronyms. Frustrating billing experiences can overshadow even the best clinical outcomes. For hospitals, this can also increase bad debt.

Will: What’s billing like on the provider side?

Kyle: Well, it’s important to know that patient responsibility for payments has risen dramatically in the past 10 years. Healthcare providers are owed 15-20% of their overall revenue directly from patients, and that will probably increase in the coming years. But right now, many systems are only collecting a fraction of what they have billed to patients. Bad debt is higher than ever. A bad financial experience results in a lot of uncollected revenue, and this is especially damaging at a time when health systems already have low margins. In fact, 2022 is projected to be the worst financial year for hospitals and health systems since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Will: Definitely. How have they tried to tackle this problem?

Kyle: Unfortunately, right now, many RCM teams are working hard just to stay afloat. A survey earlier this year found that about half of RCM departments are facing severe labor shortages. Staffing’s a huge problem, especially when it comes to call centers where patient complaints are handled. Those jobs are difficult to staff right now. As much as RCM departments want to do right by patients, we’re seeing that many teams are too overwhelmed to make much progress, leading to uncollected revenue and a poor patient experience.

Will: How does digital self-service make a difference?

Chris: Digital payment solutions offer a lot of benefits. Payment options can be personalized and paperless. Patients can easily view acute and ambulatory charges, see integrated Explanation of Benefits (EOB) information, and manage multiple family accounts in one place. R1’s solution, Entri Pay, lets patients access finance plans and offers a truly tailored digital experience. There’s a lot of research out there showing that this is just what patients have been asking for.

Kyle: And it’s super impactful for providers too. Solutions like Entri Pay are helping RCM teams turn bad debt into revenue by helping them collect more cash from payments that may have been written off otherwise. Entri Pay actually integrates call center interactions with digital self-service interactions, streamlining the work RCM employees have to tackle and reducing operating costs.

Chris: Definitely. We’ve seen providers using Entri Pay resolve up to 85% of patient billing inquiries in one call. For an infamously complex process, that’s really huge – it shows how both patients and RCM teams can more easily resolve billing and payment issues with full transparency across digital and call-center channels. This is even more critical when resources are tight and each minute saved improves margins. Not only does it benefit providers financially, we’ve seen that a digital-first experience along with highly personalized assistance significantly improves patient satisfaction. Many of our clients are seeing Net Promoter Scores comparable to highly regarded consumer brands like Target.

Will: But technology isn’t a silver bullet. Why is it important to combine new platforms with thoughtful customer service?

Kyle: ?While we’ve seen a big increase in digital adoption by healthcare consumers, not everyone is digital-first. It’s important for health systems to be able to meet their patients where they are. It could be that some people are just more comfortable interacting over the phone, or maybe they need a guided tour of the digital application, or maybe they have a really complex problem that only a person-to-person interaction can resolve. We’ve found its important to offer both a great self-service experience, and a great customer service experience.

Will: What are some common hesitations about implementing digital self-service?

Chris: There’s a common misconception that older people won’t use this platform. Recent data actually shows that adoption slows only for people older than 80, who have relatively low out of pocket costs. All other demographics have been really open to using it. There’s a lot of research out there showing that this is just the kind of tool patients across each age group have been asking for.

Kyle: Providers can also have doubts around initial startup costs. Financial and labor resources are tight right now. In reality, a well-managed implementation pathway to achieve a successful launch can deliver rapid and measurable return on investment – not to mention reducing administrative burden and ultimately improve margins in the long run. RCM teams don’t have the bandwidth to staff call centers adequately right now; a digital platform enables scale for providers so they can focus on providing the best clinical experience in their market.

Will: What should hospital systems looking to implement digital self-service know about working with a third party?

Chris: It’s important to pick a solution that provides a truly personalized patient experience and a partner who has expertise across both technology and services. The right partner will go beyond basic implementation to truly evaluate effectiveness inside your unique environment - for your patient demographics and your employees. They should also provide ongoing support to help you implement best?practices from across the industry.

Kyle: Agreed. Finding a partner that specializes in both technology and customer service will go a long way toward making integration and operation of digital self-service solutions smoother. Over time, this can be enormously beneficial for both patients and RCM teams.

To learn more about R1 and Cloudmed’s Entri Pay solution, visit www.r1rcm.com/entri-pay.?