PatientPay Partners with Azalea Health to Improve Financial Outcomes for Community Hospitals and Medical Groups

DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PatientPay, the leading patient billing and payments partner for acute, ambulatory and specialty care, today announced a partnership with Azalea Health, a leading provider of fully integrated cloud-based healthcare IT solutions and services. As part of the partnership, PatientPay will leverage Azalea Health’s API Infrastructure to provide ambulatory providers and community hospitals with the ability to manage patient billing and payments on a single platform—promoting faster revenue capture and profitability.

Rural healthcare organizations operate on extremely narrow margins and in some cases are forced to close their doors. As the National Rural Health Association noted in a statement earlier this year: “Using hospitals as a proxy for the well-being of rural healthcare generally, over 170 rural hospitals have closed or discontinued inpatient services since 2010. Nearly 450 more rural hospitals are considered vulnerable to closure, with 50% operating with negative margins.”

Although many factors contribute to an organization’s margin, a turbulent economic environment intensifies the need for organizations to capture more patient payments as quickly as possible. PatientPay uniquely leverages easy-to-understand statements and digital billing strategies to engage patients in paying their bills quickly. Across clients, PatientPay:

• Averages less than 14 days to get paid vs. the industry average of 45 to 60 days
• Converts 48.8% of electronic billing messages into payments once patients log in vs. the consumer industry average of 2%
• Increases payment capture rates by 3x for certain providers

“We’re thrilled to partner with Azalea Health,” says Tom Furr, CEO of PatientPay. “It’s no secret that Azalea Health is the top partner to help community and rural providers address unique challenges in today’s turbulent market. Our new partnership will assist their clients to move the needle on the overall financial health so they can continue delivering vital care to their communities.”

Through Azalea’s API Marketplace, users can search through a library of approved third-party applications that are integrated with the Azalea system and select the solutions that are right for their organization’s needs. Leaning into the pre-existing solutions and connectivity enabled through the “SMART on FHIR” API means less time wasted on setting up interfaces—which translates to faster implementation. Members of the API Marketplace now have access to PatientPay’s platform, further supporting:

• A streamlined billing experience for patients
• Faster self-pay payments and higher bill conversion rates for providers
• Reduced days in A/R and decreased balance write-offs
• Lower collection costs stemming from the move away from inefficient, paper-based processes

“Our healthcare system is complex and ripe with fragmented data and processes that hinder physicians’ ability to provide quality care and maintain organizational health,” says Baha Zeidan CEO of Azalea Health. “PatientPay is a welcome addition to our network and this partnership is a testament to our commitment to offer our customers innovative, integrated solutions to drive profitability and sustainability.”

To learn more about PatientPay, visit www.patientpay.com and Azalea Health at www.azaleahealth.com.

About PatientPay

PatientPay partners with specialty care medical groups and facilities to drive patient payments at each stage of the patient journey. As patient financial responsibility grows, community hospitals and specialty services such as long-term care, physical therapy, radiology and anesthesiology rely on PatientPay for quick and complete payments. Ultimately, PatientPay aims to enhance overall patient satisfaction by improving the patient experience through digital wallets, matching bills with EOBs, offering flexible payment options, and providing custom communications. To learn more about how PatientPay guarantees results for its clients, contact [e-mail].

About Azalea Health

Azalea Health is changing the way health IT platforms connect community-based healthcare providers and patients across the lifecycle of care. Offering a 100% cloud-based integrated solution, Azalea delivers electronic health records and revenue cycle management designed for practices and hospitals. Quick to deploy and intuitive to use, Azalea solutions ensure better care coordination and communication – enabling better outcomes and a meaningful competitive advantage. For more information, visit www.AzaleaHealth.com.