Best practices for effective financial communication with patients

Communicating effectively with patients about their financial responsibility means hospitals and health systems get paid. A session Monday morning at the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s annual ANI conference set out tested best practices for achieving effective financial communications.

“The biggest message that we have is that if you take care of your patient you take care of yourself, too … and this means ensuring that the patient has a path to resolve their bills,” said Terry Rappuhn, leader of HFMA’s Patient Friendly Billing Project.

Rappuhn and Mark Rukavina, president of Community Health Advisors, shared some of the best practices occurring in the industry today, including:

Listen. When gathering information from patients, listen. Make sure your staff is trained in appropriate patient financial communications standards and educate them on why communicating appropriately with patients is important, both to the organization and to the patient. Simplify. Communications and education of patients should be in language they understand. For example, they may not understand what co-insurance or a narrow network is. Be transparent. Give patients easy-to-use and easy-to-understand tools that empower them to make meaningful price comparisons before they receive care. Make sure they understand what is included and what isn’t. Put your financial assistance and eligibility policies in writing and make them available publicly. Be upfront. Explain to patients what they can expect. Come to a payment agreement and set up a pathway for them to pay their bills. Help patients determine if they qualify for various forms of assistance and make it easy for them to apply for assistance. Reach out. Partner with those in your community who work in the community, especially in regards to communicating and educating around enrolling in exchange plans. Analyze. The past can’t be relied on since the start of enrollment through the exchanges so analyze data and implement strategies to respond to what you’re experiencing in real time.