How do your patients perceive you?
In the face of shrinking reimbursements, health care providers are working harder than ever to maximize collections and develop new revenue streams. But at what expense? Can you take it too far?
Don’t forget in the new world of healthcare, patient experience and satisfaction also influence reimbursement. And if you push too hard with collections, you run the risk of negatively impacting patient experience.
A couple of recent stories to illustrate my point:
- A colleague spent an entire day in the ER undergoing a cadre of tests for cardiac symptoms. At the end of the day, feeling exhausted and weak, she was cleared to go home. Before the nurse came in to officially discharge her, a man from the billing department was already at her bedside explaining what her insurance would and would not cover and asking her to pay the rather significant difference in full before being allowed to leave the hospital. When she woke up that morning, this visit was not even on her radar. How do you think she felt about that hospital? How different would she have felt if the bill came a day or two later and she had a reasonable amount of time to focus on it and pay it?
- In another recent experience, a patient was quoted the full fee for an oral surgery procedure. After her initial visit but prior to the surgery date, she experienced intense pain in that tooth and was told to come in and have the Dr. check it out. Before the Dr. even saw her, the billing person insisted she pay a $95 fee for the visit. The patient explained that she was already booked for surgery for the same issue and had been quoted a $695 fee for the entire care experience. In the end, the Dr. insisted she owed the additional amount for what turned out to be a 5-minute visit. How do you think this patient felt?
We all must be fiscally responsible. However, at the end of the day, make sure your patients view you first as a caregiver… not a cash register… or you risk losing them altogether.