Without the ability to retain patients and collect strong revenue, hospitals can struggle financially. High levels of patient retention is a direct effect of quality care, in addition to ensuring your patients receive exceptional service and have a good overall experience when paying for that care.
As such, revenue cycle management is a vital part of the management of your hospital, and an area that takes up a high level of internal resources.
Due to the stress caused by the rapidly changing healthcare landscape and the desire to reduce in-house services, many hospitals are turning to healthcare BPO companies that offer outsourced solutions.
Here are 5 recommendations offered by BPO companies to help increase patient retention.
1. Get Help to Protect Your Brand
Hospitals, like other organizations, have brands that patients recognize. Maintaining your patients’ trust is very important, and a BPO company can help provide stronger levels of trust. This is done by:
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Contacting and educating patients in a professional manner
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Being clear in the desire to retain the patient
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Facilitating agreements between patients and the hospital
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Providing a high level of value for the patient
By using a BPO company to protect your brand, hospitals can retain patients at a higher rate. With outsourced revenue cycle solutions, a hospital has more time and focus to devote to patient care.
2. Honor HIPAA Compliance
By using healthcare BPO companies, a hospital is allowing a separate entity to provide and request information when it comes to patients. Make sure your BPO company is reputable and will:
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Take great care to follow HIPAA standards
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Make sure compliance is a main focus
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Convey any concerns to the hospital right away
That way, the hospital can leave all the revenue cycle issues to the BPO company without compliance worries.
3. Rely on the Bridge an Outsourced Revenue Cycle Solution Provides
Patients understand that they have to pay their bills. Hospitals understand that patients may not always have enough money to do that. When third-party accounting is used, the company can become an excellent bridge between the patient and the hospital.
That can allow the three entities (patient, hospital, and BPO company) to:
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Work together for a viable solution
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Create a payment plan
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Consider a hardship waiver
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Handle the issue with patient retention in mind
4. Processed Insurance Information Meticulously
Any insurance the patient has will do that patient no good if it is not processed correctly. Handling insurance is rarely simple:
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Insurance can come from a number of different companies
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The patient may have more than one provider
Money is a tricky subject, and often a touchy one--especially for patients who may not have a lot of it. With the right BPO company, insurance and other financial concerns will be handled in the best possible way for patient retention. Outsourced revenue cycle solutions will reflect the hospital's policy and reputation for helping people.
5. Give Yourself a Break Already (Yes, YOU a break!)
No matter how stressful a hospital becomes, one area where it can mitigate that stress is in the revenue cycle department.
By partnering with the right outsourced company, CFOs and other key healthcare Execs can finally breathe a reduced stress sigh of relief (just make it quick...you have work to do!). A successful BPO company ensures:
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Revenue cycle solutions will be executed efficiently, with your brand, goal and needs in mind
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Patient retention will increase
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There will be fewer worries over these issues
A healthcare BPO company is the right solution for any hospital that wants to handle revenue cycle solutions more effectively and more cost-efficiently. Because patient retention is such a vital part of the growth and development of a hospital, focusing on it from every angle can keep the hospital moving in the right direction. That often means outsourcing parts of the revenue cycle, to put more focus on the best possible patient care.
