Are Cash-Sharing Apps the Future of Rev Cycle?

The healthcare landscape is ever evolving, and revenue cycle leaders need to be creative when bolstering the patient financial experience.

As more organizations are looking to improve patient experience, revenue cycle and finance leaders are getting creative with new payment options.

Complex billing processes can translate into a disjointed patient payment experience. In fact, a recent report by US Bank found that common complaint amongst patients is that their bills are “confusing and unclear,” leading 55% of finance leaders to reevaluate their vender and customer payment experience altogether.

The accessibility and ease of use of an organization’s payment method makes a difference in the speed of an organization’s payment reconciliation process, and in turn is a crucial part of the revenue cycle.

In an effort to keep up with the ever-changing landscape, more organizations are looking to be more creative with their payment options.

According to the report, 54% of providers have already begun utilizing cash sharing applications like Zelle and Venmo for patient payments, and those who haven’t are planning to do so in the future.

Not ready to make the leap to Venmo? That’s OK but streamlining the patient payment process in any way is a must for the revenue cycle.

HealthLeaders previously spoke with Drew Smith, director of revenue cycle at Main Street Family Care, on its decision to implement a text-based bill pay process with its patients. Smith said the goal wasn’t to just increase payment speed but reduce cost to collect as well.

“Paper statements cost $6 per statement for our organization based on paper and postage costs, the time it takes to post physical checks and respond to returned mail and the need for a lockbox,” he explained.

Smith added that Main Street Family Care isn’t charged for having the wrong number for a patient or if the text wasn’t delivered successfully. Since starting their mobile pay option in 2019, 14% of their patients use it to pay their bills. Within that group, 80% pay before a paper statement is ever printed.