Patient Access Trends: Insights from Experian’s Recent RCM Survey

Fewer patients are experiencing obstacles to accessing healthcare, according to a new survey, although persistent systemic issues limit improvements. How will this affect the revenue cycle?

There is some discrepancy between providers and patients when it comes to patient access, according to a new report from Experian Health. And that could impact revenue cycle management.

Just over one-third of providers surveyed said patient access has improved, but only 16% of patients agreed. Conversely, only 15% of patient respondents said that patient access was worse in 2024 – the lowest amount since Experian began asking the question in 2022.

“It signals that the patient experience does continue to be on a positive trendline and is overall improving,” said Clarissa Riggins, chief product officer at Experian Health.

The top challenge for patients continues to be wait times to see a provider.

According to the survey, just over two-thirds of patients said patient access was the same. On the provider side, 43% said patient access was the same and 22% said it was worse.

Results are based on a survey of 213 revenue cycle leaders and 1,004 patients who received care or oversaw care for a dependent between January 2024 and February 2025.

What revenue cycle leaders have to say

These survey results align with what HealthLeaders is hearing from revenue cycle leaders, some of whom have seen improvements since implementing new technologies and adjusting workflows.

“Patients want their healthcare experience to be as seamless and as convenient as online shopping and online banking,” Shannon Ducat, associate vice president of patient access at ProMedica, said during a recent HealthLeaders Revenue Cycle NOW Online Summit. “So, for strategic initiatives, we’re focused on expanding those self-service tools.”

In addition to adding self-service tools, ProMedica implemented a centralized scheduling team and pre-registration processes. Ducat credits these changes with a decrease in eligibility denials and increase in pre-service collections.

Similarly, University Health Kansas City has improved accuracy of patient data it collects by providing patients with more tools to update their information via online portals and self-serve kiosks, which has reduced friction in the prior authorization process, according to Seth Katz, the health system’s vice president of revenue cycle and HIM.

“Everything that happens up front has major implications through the rest of your revenue cycle,” Katz said during the summit.

What matters most to patients

Among patient respondents, a significant majority agreed to the following statements:

• If my information hasn’t changed, I shouldn’t have to fill out paperwork (82%).
• An accurate estimate helps me better prepare to pay for my care costs (81%).
• I would like to schedule appointments anytime, from my home or mobile device (80%).
• My medical provider’s ability to tell me what non-emergency care my insurance covers, before treatment, is important to me (77%).

Interestingly, despite talk among revenue cycle leaders about expanding their digital front doors, only about half of patients said that they would like more digital options for managing their healthcare.

Finally, 43% of patients said they would likely postpone or cancel care if they did not receive accurate pricing estimates.

A disconnect on digital options?

Self-scheduling tools are a priority for 71% of respondents. Just more than half of providers surveyed already offer self-scheduling, and another 10% said they were rolling out self-scheduling tools in the next six months.

“It’s not enough to simply offer these digital channels,” Riggins said. “Ease of use and driving education is equally important.”

Persistent systemic issues also limit advancements in patient access. Providers who said that patient access was worse pointed to staffing shortages (57%) and limited appointment availability (39%).

Difficulty collecting accurate patient information was another challenge to improving patient access, according to the survey. But this is an area where advancements in AI and automation could help to ease the pain.

“It really has a tremendous opportunity to have an accelerating impact, making the process easier for patients as well as improving accuracy,” Riggins says.

Less than half of providers said they were automating insurance lookup and verification, and fewer than one-third said they were automating data entry. As these technologies mature and more health systems adopt them, they could reduce the impact of staffing shortages. Similarly, achieving greater buy-in among patients for digital tools could help to improve patient access.

“There’s still a lot of work we can do to make the process of patient access more smooth and clear,” Riggins says.