In 2022, 90% of healthcare organizations reported that their costs increased faster than their revenue, and many continue to grapple with rising inflation and labor expenses. Clearly, controlling costs in the current economic environment is a top priority for healthcare leaders—but chipping away at expenses can only go so far in helping to offset those mounting costs.
To get ahead of rising expenses, healthcare organizations must ramp up their efforts to bring in additional, consistent cashflow. Options include getting new patients in the door, booking more appointments and maximizing collections—all of which are vital to maintaining operations, retaining skilled staff and helping patients take an active role in their care. Here are four ways that digital tools can help healthcare organizations generate more revenue and strengthen their bottom line.
1. Acquire new patients
Provider organizations must consistently bring in new patients to maintain both their appointment volume and revenue. Digital scheduling tools that help manage referrals and appointment requests can help to ensure that no prospective patients slip through the cracks, and more potential patients make it onto the schedule.
In today’s healthcare environment, cultivating a seamless, well-coordinated patient experience is essential for not only acquiring new patients but also for maintaining a robust, loyal patient base—and that begins with welcoming patients through an easy-to-use digital front door. As the entryway to the digital-first patient experience, the digital front door creates opportunities for revenue growth through patient engagement.
For example, implementing easy-to-use digital tools with convenient scheduling options allows healthcare organizations to offer patients earlier appointments if schedule slots open, reducing long wait times that might cause some patients to look elsewhere for care. In addition, an easy-to-use and inviting digital front door drives more positive online reviews, which is essential to booking appointments from prospective patients searching online for a new provider.
2. Reduce no-shows and cancellations
All provider groups and health systems struggle with no-shows. When patients don’t show up for their appointments, their healthcare suffers—and so do the schedules (and the finances) of the clinicians who serve them. No-shows cost the U.S. healthcare industry billions of dollars each year, between lost revenue and patient attrition.
Investing in digital solutions such as automated appointment reminders can help healthcare organizations combat those losses and reduce no-shows: A study in the International Journal of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found that when parents of pediatric patients received a text message in addition to a phone call reminder about their child’s appointment, no-shows dropped by more than 14%. Reminding patients of their upcoming appointments through calls, text messages and/or email gives them the opportunity to either confirm or cancel their visit, which also helps prevent last-minute cancellations.
And even if a no-show or last-minute cancellation does occur, healthcare organizations can employ automated tools to keep their schedules full. For instance, automatically generated text messages that offer to reschedule a patient who cancels or doesn’t show up for their appointment capture the opportunity to treat that patient at another time. Healthcare organizations can also further optimize these situations by automatically filling that empty appointment slot, using text message outreach to contact a patient who is scheduled further out in the future with the offer to take the newly available opening.
3. Maximize per-visit revenue
With digital-engagement tools, provider organizations can connect with relevant patients about their additional available services during check-in, creating an opportunity to schedule more of their most valuable appointment types. Using targeted outreach, providers can notify relevant patients via text message or email about healthcare services tailored to their specific needs, improving their understanding of those services—and increasing their likelihood of booking them.
Of equal importance to promoting high-value appointment types, healthcare providers also should ensure that referred patients are the right fit for their organization before booking those patients’ visits. Digital technology that can validate whether the patient has the necessary coverage for their referral is essential for maximizing visit profits. Using such tools, healthcare organizations can run multiple insurance checks, starting when the patient is first referred, then again when they are scheduled, when they do pre-check and on the day of their appointment.
4. Get paid faster
When patients don’t pay their bill on time, cash flow isn’t consistent. Healthcare organizations can improve their chances of getting paid in full by asking patients to make payments at the right time in the right way. Leveraging digital tools such as payment during intake, online payments and automated payment reminders supports a more seamless collection of copays and outstanding balances from patients before, during or after any visits.
Ultimately, making the payment process easier for patients will translate into them paying on time and in full. With tools such as automated payment plans and the ability to keep their credit card on file, patients can enjoy a more convenient and less stressful payment experience. And those same capabilities will help healthcare organizations reduce bad debt and payments that never get collected.
Learn how Phreesia can support your organization with our suite of revenue-generating digital tools.
