In the era of reform, healthcare providers will have to operate more like any other business by using the most efficient methods to deliver and pay for the most effective care, said a panel representing the banking industry and healthcare payers and providers during a business of healthcare session at the 2013 HIMSS Annual Conference & Exhibition. Electronic transactions offer an attractive solution.
“The mix and complexity of healthcare payments are going to increase,” said June St. John, senior vice president and healthcare product manager at Wells Fargo, so banks are getting more involved in providing solutions to the healthcare industry.
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Practices and hospitals may have different payment models, and banks can partner with providers to offer back-end processes to align compensation and liability, use data mining to distribute the revenue to match agreements and recognize revenue and the accounts to which payments are to be deposited, she said.
The banking industry is also stepping up with solutions for collections that will enable providers to collect the payment in a number of forms from the patient. It also includes tools to set up reconciling, payment plans and card transactions, eligibility and authorization, St. John said.
“The bank could really help the healthcare administrator to balance the books and know where the revenue is,” said Franco Rizzolo, CEO of the Suburban Orthopedic Medical Center in New Jersey, who noted that many physicians and small providers still do not perform any operations electronically for patient care and payments.
But electronic transactions are important not just on the operational end of things, Rizzolo noted. They’re also a tool for providers to use with their patients.
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Since consumers are assuming more of their healthcare payments, paying higher deductibles and co-pays or bearing full financial responsibility, it is critical for patients to be able to pay online, such as through patient portals, Rizzolo said.
“We have really leveraged technology through integrating our practice management software and our EMR so that we are able to track and reconcile payments from patient portals and payer payments,” he said, adding that meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) and the use of patient portals has helped to drive this.
Patients are used to paying other bills online, so the healthcare industry needs to educate them to get used to thinking about paying for their healthcare the same way. Patient can have their statements sent to them by email or through the provider’s portal and the patients can plan online, or set up a payment plan online.
“We have to get patients to start thinking that way about healthcare when they have a bill to pay,” Rizzolo said.
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