ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Navicure, a provider of cloud-based healthcare claims management and patient payment solutions, today announced key findings from its most recent national survey highlighting patient payment challenges and strategies for healthcare organizations. Deployed in April 2016 in conjunction with Porter Research, the survey findings revealed that 63 percent of respondents recognize patient payment processes are a high priority for leadership teams.
The majority of participants were practice administrators (36%), billing managers (35%) and c-suite executives (25%). Survey respondents represented a broad range of specialties and sizes: 41 percent from organizations with one to 10 providers, 31 percent with 11 to 50 providers, 12 percent with 51 to 100 providers and 17 percent with more than 100 providers.
Key findings were centralized around themes of processes, workflow best practices and additional challenges, including:
- Patient accountability is the primary patient payment challenge. The largest share of respondents (31%) said they struggle with patients’ inability to pay, followed by difficulties associated with educating patients about their financial responsibility (26%). Lastly, 25 percent of respondents said slow-paying patients are also a top challenge.
- Healthcare organizations are taking steps to improve price transparency, but there is still room for improvement. The majority of organizations claim they educate patients about their financial responsibility and their organization’s payment policy (57%). Unfortunately, only 42 percent indicated they always estimate the patient’s financial responsibility at the time of service.
- Newer patient- and staff-friendly technologies can help, but implementation is not prevalent. More than half of respondents do not offer electronic credit card on file (62%), automated payment plans (52%) or send electronic statements to patients (57%); however, the majority of participants who do use these technologies would recommend to a peer or colleague.
“This research validates market trends where patients are responsible for an average of one-third of the healthcare costs, largely due to high-deductible health plans. Because of this, many patients are choosing providers who can estimate their cost of care at or before time of service,” said Jim Denny, founder and CEO of Navicure. “In addition, multiple states are requiring healthcare organizations to provide patients with healthcare cost estimates or risk fines.”
“These trends are serving as a catalyst for healthcare organizations to implement patient care estimation and payment technology solutions because they can no longer afford to ignore this major threat to their revenue and reputation. For everyone’s benefit, we’re happy to see it is being addressed,” said Denny.
To view the complete survey results and analysis, visit www.navicure.com/patientpaysurvey.
About Navicure
Navicure’s cloud-based healthcare claims management and patient payment solutions help healthcare organizations of all sizes increase revenue, accelerate cash flow, and reduce costs associated with managing insurance claims and patient payments. Serving more than 90,000 healthcare providers nationwide, Navicure’s technology solutions automate account receivables processes, including claims management; patient eligibility verification; remittance and denial management including automated secondary claims filing, appeals, and posting; reporting and analysis; and patient payment collections at and near the time of service. Navicure’s solutions are supported by its unique 3-Ring® Client Service which guarantees that a client service representative will answer every client call in three rings or less. Navicure is the exclusive billing and patient payment solution of the MGMA Executive Partner network. For more information, please visit www.navicure.com, or follow @Navicure on Twitter.
About Porter Research
Porter Research - a Billian Inc. company - has for over 20 years worked diligently to understand and assess each client’s unique needs and to build a customized business-to-business research program to achieve desired goals.
The company has worked with over 300 healthcare IT companies, providing many with Go-to-Market Strategies based on its unparalleled experience, proven methodologies and knowledge-based analysis. Porter Research enables its clients to operate in a fast-changing market of new, emerging technologies and health reform issues. It provides the unbiased results that healthcare clients need to make informed, strategic business decisions.
For more information, visit www.PorterResearch.com, follow @PorterResearch on Twitter, or call 678-282-1033.
