Effective Patient Engagement Strategies for Your Practice to Improve the Health Care Revenue Cycle
Does patient engagement really influence the health care revenue cycle? And what exactly is patient engagement? Now to answer this better let us say, it is an act of coordination between the health care facility and the patient, working towards their health improvements. And in this process, the patient stays fully informed about their disease condition, necessary diagnostic tests to undergo, the various treatment options, the possible prognoses and outcomes, course of action for the follow up and complete financial details and coverage information on the treatment they are going to receive.
How does it benefit the patient and the provider’s healthcare revenue cycle?
One thing, it ensures compliance to the treatment from the patient’s part. Physicians claim; when there is proper understanding on the disease and what to expect as apart of it, number of emergency room visits have certainly come down. It also reduces the cost of treatment for the patient when they are motivated to adhere to the treatment consistently. Having better access to their healthcare data and payment information enables the patient to be responsible about keeping themselves healthy and also makes them aware of their financial responsibility to the facility.
For the providers, it promotes a boost in their healthcare revenue cycle when the patient is regular in their visits, never miss or delay the appointments. It will bring about better prognosis to their condition as well, which is a satisfactory experience to both the provider and the patient. With good communication and coordinated treatment, the responsibility of the care is shared equally between the patent and the doctor which adds confidence to both of them at the end. All these points to one thing- improved rates of patient retention and boost in clientele at the facility.
Top strategies to improve patient engagement for a better healthcare revenue cycle
Most effective patient engagement method will be incorporating technology into the scene. Most of the patients these days are educated and well read and comfortable using online platforms to go about their daily business. The new age practice management solutions have come up with patient portals through which, the patient can schedule appointments on their own, according to their convenience. It also gives them an overview about the services offered at the facility and the credentialing information of the provider. Automated patient reminders and payment reminders can be scheduled too, so that everything runs smooth.
The patient portal also communicates on the lab reports, diagnostic tests, procedure information, electronic prescription, procedure schedules and payment details of every service provided. There will be detailed information on how the payment will be divided between the patient and their insurance payer, so that the patient is kept aware on how much they owe the clinic out of their pocket. There is transparency in every matters.
Patient retention is a crucial element for the healthcare revenue cycle at any clinic. When a patient is well- engaged, their overall experience of treatment and care tend to be a delightful one, which surely brings them back to your clinic every time.
