So what can a hospital do to stay afloat and thrive even in the midst of these challenges? Terry Rappuhn, leader of HFMA’s Patient Friendly Billing Project, shares, “the biggest message that we have is that if you take care of your patient, you take care of yourself, too.” Generally, the best way to take care of your patients and improve your bottom line is to provide a framework to educate patients on the account resolution process and ensure that each patient has a way to resolve their bills.

Tips for Positive Account Resolutions: 

1. Educate your patients the bill resolution process prior to the time of service.
2. When gathering information, listen intently to your patients and their needs.
3. Simplify bills and communications to be clear, concise, accurate, and in a patient-friendly manner.
4. Establish policies and standards for account resolution and ensure that they are followed internally and by business partners.
5. Be transparent with your patients throughout the entire account resolution process. For example, make your financial assistance and eligibility policies available publicly.
6. Coordinate account resolution activities between departments to avoid doubling up on unnecessary efforts and to prevent duplication errors.
7. Track consumer complaints and make it a point to address recurring issues.
8. Set proper financial expectations for your patients. Communicate a reasonable payment agreement and set them up on a pathway for your patients to pay their bills in a way that makes sense to their situations. Assist your patients in determining if they qualify for public benefits and help them apply for such assistance.
9. Utilize external revenue cycle solutions to enhance positive patient experiences and maximize reimbursement opportunities.

Now What?

Even in times of unprecedented emergencies, The Midland Group remains committed to helping our partners uphold an effective revenue cycle process. Over the next several weeks, we understand that our partnering facilities may experience disruptions to their standard billing operations. Midland remains open and ready to assist with any claim resolution activities you may need due to unforeseen circumstances created by COVID-19, and our trained staff stands ready to assist in whatever capacity is necessary. Since 1989, our goal has always been to increase people’s access to healthcare and protect the financial health of our partner hospitals. Let us deal with the hard stuff, so you can focus on what matters. Book your free assessment today to see how you can maximize all potential revenue surrounding all types of liability claims.​

The post Maintaining Positive Account Resolutions during COVID-19 appeared first on The Midland Group.

A survey conducted by Connance shows how patient satisfaction affects revenue. The Connance Consumer Impact Survey of 2018 stated that just 50 percent of patients reporting a bad experience paid their bills in full or in stages. This number looks jarring because it is, but there are ways to improve the patient experience that will help you avoid losing valuable revenue.

Increase Your Revenue: How to Improve Patient Satisfaction

Take a look at the ways your medical facility can effectively retain patients, improve patient satisfaction, and be more profitable.

Give Patients a More Personalized Experience

The idea is to offer your patients a feeling of comfort by letting them know that they are more than just a number. Something you should do in every patient interaction is use their name in both email and phone conversations. You can take it a step further and ask patients questions about themselves while a screen loads or you wait for a payment to process. This will give them the idea that you genuinely care about them and their experience without wasting valuable time during the workday. 

Help Them Better Understand Billing

It is imperative that the billing process is handled with attention to detail, tact, and overall care. There is nothing more frustrating for a patient than to experience confusion and stress when trying to decipher a medical bill or not understanding the options they have to pay off that medical bill.

Many times, improving how billing is explained and carried out can make all of the difference when it comes to patient experience. According to the Trends in Healthcare Payments Eighth Annual Report: 2017, 72 percent of patients said they are confused by their explanation of benefits and 70 percent are confused by their medical bills. Nurses and doctors can do outstanding work by providing top of the line care, but if the patient becomes irritable after they receive their medical bill, that can affect how they view your facility as a whole and they may not want to return if the experience is less than desirable. So, how can you fix this?
You can, of course, have your staff spend more time on each account, but sometimes they just don’t have that extra time. Another solution is to use a third-party vendor with the knowledge, resources, and experience to help you give patient accounts the one-on-one attention they deserve and provide the patient with options that benefit their specific financial situation – and help you capture more dollweb4.midlaars.

Provide Patients with Digital Convenience

Patients, especially those who are in the younger generations want to be able to access online bill pay and appointment scheduling at the very least. 

The Trends in Healthcare survey mentioned above states that  80 percent of patients want to check-in for visits via a mobile device and 65 percent would download a mobile app to pay healthcare bills. The survey was conducted in 2017 so we can only assume that these statistics have increased since then. 

It is important to make sure your website and digital solutions are up-to-date and easy to navigate in order to showcase these options to your patients. A functional website can serve as an important tool to bring in more patients and keep those patients in the long-term. 

Make High-Quality Service a Priority

Offering a patient great service from the second they book an appointment to when they pay the last cent of their medical bill is important. The healthcare industry is intimidating to those who are not in the industry. The patient deserves to be informed, respected, feel that they are not being inconvenienced, and receive outstanding levels of service. 

The playing field of healthcare is constantly changing with new requirements and rules coming into play. It is important that you focus on patient retention and have customer service in mind every step of the way.

From the minute that a would-be patient walks into the door or goes to your website, they should have all of their needs promptly met in a professional manner. This superior service must continue throughout their time of care and into the after-care billing process. 

If a patient is pleased with the care that they received then they are far more likely to pay their bill by setting up payment plans, using resources to assist them with payments or pay in full. 

There is also the benefit of word-of-mouth when a patient received great service. They will share their positive experience with their family, friends, and neighbors bringing you more business. Happy patients also leave online reviews and care which will help solidify your reputation of providing a great customer experience. 

How the Midland Group Can Help

We pride ourselves on helping improve patient satisfaction by working closely with not only staff but also with directly with patients to help maintain healthy revenue cycles. Book your free assessment today to see how you can maximize all potential revenue surrounding all types of liability claims.​

The post Patient Satisfaction is the Key to More Revenue: Start Improving Your Strategy appeared first on The Midland Group.

While this is understandable, there’s no reason to sink yourself further into debt. If you’re interested in paying off your medical debt, here’s what NOT do.

Charge It to a Credit Card

One of the most common mistakes most people make in dealing with their medical debt is to charge their bills on their credit card. At some point in your treatment, it may sound like it makes sense. Now, why not just let the bank do the hard work for me while I go home and relax? It may sound like a quick fix, but not until you get hit with all the huge interest, monthly dues, and the threat of getting a lower credit rating. Aside from that, credit card companies are more stringent with their collection policies than hospitals are. The same goes for loans or borrowing money from someone else.

Ignoring Your Medical Bills

Ignoring the bills is another common mistake. Bills do not magically disappear by themselves nor does your debt. By ignoring your bills and not doing anything to settle your account you are allowing your debt to grow and pile up. When you take action, the sooner you reduce the chance you will get into a more complicated situation.

Taking Money Out of Retirement

Taking money out of retirement fund is an idea that is usually brought up in such situations; however, it is not smart to take out money from your retirement fund just to pay off your debt. There are still better options which can be explored which lead us to our next topic.

A Better Alternative

When your insurance policy cannot cover all of your medical expenses or if you are left to face your bills on your own, you needn’t worry. There are still other ways to settle your medical bills.
One of the things you can do is to go over your bills and review them with scrutiny. Look for double billed entries or unnecessary charges. Make sure that your insurance is also billed correctly. Mistakes happen and you’re not attentive, you could be the one paying for that mistake.

Another thing you could do is to ask help from charitable institutions and foundations that help certain people with medical conditions. There are certain groups that raise funds for people who are in need, either in physical, emotional, or even financial support. Make sure that you check your area if there are such organizations that can help you.

The Best Solution

The best thing that you can do is to seek out a patient advocate who understands you and your situation. The Midland Group partners with hospitals and then works with you on the hospital’s behalf so you can pay your debts according to your own financial capability. Know your options, know your capabilities, and take control of your situation. Contact your hospital to see if they work with a patient advocacy group like The Midland Group.

The post 3 Ways to NOT Pay Off Your Medical Debt appeared first on The Midland Group.

Why is Health Literacy So Important?

Health literacy is an important part of providing quality healthcare. Poor health literacy is often responsible for patients being admitted to the hospital with conditions that could have otherwise been avoided with preventative measures. In turn, this drives up healthcare costs. Older adults, in particular, are more likely to have a hard time understanding health information.

As patients get older, their cognitive abilities begin to suffer, presenting challenges with managing the many conditions they may have. They may have difficulty reading literature, following directions, or even understanding what is happening to them. Being able to communicate with them in a way that makes sense is imperative for ensuring their health.

Helen Osborne of healthliteracy.com, president of Health Literacy Consulting, and author of Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, Second Edition offers a few suggestions on how to help your older patients.

Understand the Difficulty

One of Osborne’s first suggestions is to understand, appreciate, and have compassion for just how difficult it can be for older patients to understand health information. Older adults often have more health issues and, as a result, take more medications. Not only that, but older patients may be sick, in pain and/or scared, not knowing what is happening to them. All of these factors affect their ability to pay attention to what you are telling them, and they may not be able to remember any new information you may provide them with.

Use “Plain” Language

Getting older has a significant impact on one’s life. Hearing and sight get worse, and the memory starts to go. Many older patients are afflicted with Alzheimer’s. These changes mean changes in the way information is processed and communicated. Which, in turn, means that you need to change the ways in which you communicate with them. Language should be kept plain and simple. Osborne offers a few suggestions: large print for written instructions, enunciate when speaking and make sure that there is good lighting and no distractions in the room.

Encourage Questions

Just like any patient, older patients may have questions in between appointments. However, these patients will have a much harder time remembering those questions when the day of their appointment arrives. Any question is an important one, so you want to make sure they get all the answers they need. Encourage your patients to write down their questions in a special notebook that they can then bring to their appointments. And, to take it one step further, provide them with paper and pens (as well as a clipboard) to write down notes.

Help Keep Track of Medications

You prescribe your patients with medications for a reason. But older patients typically require more medications than their younger counterparts. Certain medications can have side effects, or interact poorly with others, so keeping track of any and all medications is important. Help your older patients by providing them with clearly written instructions on when and how to take each medication. It can also be helpful to have your older patients use a pill box with all medications presorted for the week.

Understanding the health information and services that are required to make important health decisions can be tough for older patients. But it doesn’t have to be. With a bit of patience and extra attention you can help your older patients understand the information they need and help them to get the best care possible.

Need help communicating with older patients? Contact The Midland Group. Our one-touch solution establishes a personal connection between your organization and patients. Contact us today to learn more.

The post Helpful Ways to Communicate Health Literacy with Older Patients appeared first on The Midland Group.

The new President has promised to undo the ACA, and try to get medical costs back under control, but what will be done remains to be seen. Despite the uncertain future, there are things that patients can do to avoid unnecessary medical debt.

Build an Emergency Fund

Even if you are a healthy individual, with no significant medical issues, accidents do happen. Open up a separate savings account and dedicate a percentage of your income to it. Leave this money alone except in the event of an emergency.

Or, if you are eligible through your workplace, open an HSA account. This type of account is designed for people who have a high deductible health insurance plan, and takes out a certain amount of your paycheck to pay for medical expenses. These accounts are tax deductible and favored by President Trump. This year, the limits on what you can save are $3,400 for individuals and $6,750 for families.

Shop Around

The ACA encouraged a shift toward value-based care. And with value-based care came price transparency. Practices are making their costs known to patients prior to receiving treatment. Many practice websites have cost calculators, many of which can even calculate your cost with your specific insurance. By having this information at your fingertips, you can choose the most affordable options, and know what your total will be before you even step foot through the door.

Make an Early Payment

Another component of value-based care is for medical practices to engage their patients early in the billing process. As such, employees at the front desk are offering you the opportunity to pay up front. If you cannot afford the entire bill at the time, you can make a partial payment, which will then help to bring down the cost of your final bill, helping to alleviate the burden.

Check Your Bill

Don’t just assume that the amount at the bottom of the page is correct. Billing mistakes happen. Know what your insurance company covers and what it doesn’t. In some instances, you may be charged for a service you didn’t receive. A coding error could have caused your insurance company to refuse coverage for a specific service. If you are unsure of any part of your bill, be sure to consult with your insurance company and the billing office.

Know Your Options

Getting a medical bill in the mail is scary, especially when it only tells you the total and that you have 30 days to submit payment. However, this is not ironclad. Know your options. Call the billing office to see if you can set up a payment plan. Learn if you can have your bill reduced. Find out if you are eligible for an assistance program or public benefits. A medical billing advocate can work on your behalf to help you reach the best possible outcome and avoid sinking deep into debt.

Despite your best efforts to stay healthy, things happen, and medical care can become necessary. Unfortunately, the cost of that healthcare can be high. But with planning and the correct information on your side, you can take the right steps to avoid unnecessary medical debt.

The post 5 Ways to Avoid Unnecessary Medical Debt appeared first on The Midland Group.