Applying the power of data analytics to prioritize and segment accounts is one strategy to rein in its billing costs.
Here are the tactics:
1. Handling Collections Internally
As part of its strategy to work more effectively with self-pay patients bring the collections process in-house a instead of using a third-party vendor.
2. Using Data Analytics
One of the biggest factors in this success is the use of analytics to better understand its patients and to target the right collection strategy to each subgroup.
Through its analysis for example now knows that 55% of its self-pay patient population is at a low risk of not paying; 25% is at a medium risk; and 5.6% is at a high risk. Data for the remaining 14.4% is unavailable.
You can do an analysis of accounts based on ability to pay or propensity to pay, and then have different methods for reaching out to those segments.
3. Reaching Out to Low-Income Patients
On low-income patients educating these patients about government programs that may be available to them when they present for care.
4. Communicating Clearly about Payment Options
Making a bigger effort to communicate with patients about their financial responsibility and to educate them on their payment options is also key to improving collection rates and lowering the overall cost to collect.