A Michigan medical practice that added online bill payments to its website is seeing a substantial increase in revenue.
To introduce the new process, the office put signs in the waiting room and a notice in statements. The company’s practice administration said it took awhile to catch on but it worked because patients are already comfortable with online payments. They pay other bills that way and the doctor’s bill is just one more.
Bill paying is only one online convenience. The practice also introduced electronic patient registration. During the introduction phase, the office referred callers to the site and sent letters to referring physicians asking them to provide patients with the web address to register.
Many practices have online registration forms patients can print out and bring with them to their appointment; however, the advantage with this system is that staff receive the online form in advance and can verify a patient’s coverage and exact co-pay amount to collect at check-in. The practice has gone on to add prescription refill requests, appointment requests, and a patient satisfaction survey to the site.
The site is now the hub of all the marketing to the extent that the office rarely sends out registration packets – a savings in postage as well as printing.
Cost savings aside, the practice takes patient privacy very seriously and uses the highest encryption system available – the same one banks use – to protect patients.
Medical Office Manager wants to send you $100. Tell us how you solved a problem, implemented a successful program – or share any idea we can use in our Reader Tips column and we’ll send you $100. Contact barb@plainlanguagemedia.com
