By Tami Kamin Meyer
According to a 2021 report conducted by InstaMed, a J.P. Morgan company, 82% of consumers want to pay their healthcare balances in one place. Moreover, 78% of consumers want doctors to maintain contactless options borne from the pandemic, such as telehealth and digital payments.
With hospitals and physician offices on the constant search for ways to improve patient contact and communication, some have added texting patients about their balances due to their collection repertoire.
Including a payment method via text and email is among the most efficient ways to reduce medical debt among patients, according to BillFlash, a Park City, Utah-based company offering billing and payment processing services.
“Industry data suggests sending medical eBills and eBill notices via text and email in addition to a mailed statement reduces the average payment rate from 20 days to 9 days,” the company’s website states.
Reducing the lag time between services rendered and getting paid is probably the ultimate goal of every medical back office.
“Patients, especially Gen Xers and millennials, do not want to answer a patient questionnaire in writing. They want to text it,” said Krishna Kurapati, founder and CEO of QliqSOFT. His company manages a platform for hospitals, doctors, and other professionals who text patients about balances due while providing a secure method for digital payment.
Patients in tune with texting
The demand for touchless interaction translates into an increased desire for simplified payment options, including online or using a smartphone. Data released by Statista indicating the average amount of time an American spends on their phone daily, excluding the time spent actually talking on the phone, has increased over the past few years. Americans spent an average of four and a half hours daily on their cell phones as of April 2022, not including conversations. That figure is projected to reach four hours and 39 minutes by 2024.
With that in mind, companies like QliqSOFT are focusing on the increased emphasis on digital communications between hospitals, doctors, and their patients.
“We are seeing more business from physician groups and hospitals. They can integrate this platform into their patient engagement and experience, which includes payment,” said Kurapati.
Joseph R., a lawyer in Ohio who did not want to provide his last name, said he was initially surprised to receive a text message from his physician about his balance due.
“At first, I was wary about the text,” he said. “I didn’t know if it was spam or legitimate, so I was hesitant to make a payment through the text. I called my doctor’s office to verify that they had, in fact, sent the text and that it was real. Once I realized it was a new way to get reminded about what I owed my doctor, I embraced the technology. I like how I can make a quick payment and forget about it. With paper bills, I often put them down and let them go for a while. Now I don’t.”
QliqSOFT doesn’t just provide a platform for patients to pay their medical bills through a secure, digital process.
“We help doctors, nurses and staffs securely text patients about their diagnosis, follow-up after discharge, send directions for preparation for a procedure (like a colonoscopy), appointment reminders, directions to the office, and generally engage with patients to enhance care delivery,” said Kurapati.
How it works
According to Kurapati, a patient does not download an app to access QliqSOFT. Instead, a verification process ensures the safety and accuracy of information the patient inputs into the site.
It works like this: Patients receive a text about balances due. They then request a link for payment, which can be made securely using the link.
Another benefit of companies like QliqSOFT is that invoices detail the services rendered in a timely manner.
The QliqSOFT method is advantageous to hospitals and their patients because “the entire process can be automated. You can set up an individual plan for each patient,” said Kurapati. An example would be the automation of how many follow-up calls a doctor or hospital will make before embarking on additional collection efforts if texting balances due does not result in any payment.
Problems with snail-mailed bills
Getting paid after medical services have been provided is a long-time challenge for hospitals and doctors’ offices.
“The problem with post-pay is that 70% of people get bills they don’t understand. They also get shocked by the amount due,” said Kurapati.
Moreover, if extended time passes between when medical services are rendered and a patient receives a statement, they often “lose context of what the bill was for,” he said.
“The likelihood of payment rises when reminders are texted,” he summed. It is long established in the collection industry that securing payment is more difficult as the length of time between the procedure and the time a patient receives a bill extends, said Kurapati. “Texting with a detailed explanation of the bill increases the likelihood of payment.”
Texting’s role in improving the patient experience
In its Healthcare Finance Trends for 2023: Multiple Intersecting Challenges report issued by CommerceHealthcare in January, the need to improve and personalize the patient experience, including financially, is of paramount importance to the healthcare industry. According to the report, patients will increasingly seek financing programs to help them pay their medical bills in 2023 and beyond.
Other findings of the report include:
- Over half of the respondents said text message reminders increase the likelihood of paying a medical bill faster than usual
- 61% of consumers said ease of making payments is very or somewhat important when deciding to continue patronizing a physician
- 35% of participants have changed or would change healthcare providers to obtain a better digital patient administrative experience
By texting patients about their balances due, doctors and hospitals hope consumers place greater emphasis on paying their medical debt in a timely manner.
“As the bottom line for Americans is being stretched more and more, it becomes increasingly crucial for doctors to get paid early in the process,” said Kurapati. Examples include requesting patients pay co-pays before a visit or offer financing options, he said.
“You’re bundling the payment process to improve the patient experience. If you integrate payment into the overall patient experience, they (patients) will usually attribute it to a good experience and payment history. The payment process is integrated so when a patient is texted about payment, they don’t feel harassed. It’s just part of the overall patient experience,” he said.
Texting patients can increase a hospital’s appeal to investors
“For sure, (hospitals and doctor’s offices that text patients) are attractive” to investors, said Kurapati. That’s because investors care about topline growth, which includes payment processes, he said.
“If a facility already has a positive cash flow, it makes them a more attractive target” to investors, he said. “PE investors want to implement systems to change the payment processes. That makes me believe that practices already engaged in digital communications” are more appealing to investors than ones that are not, he said.
Kurapati said QliqSOFT also receives inquiries from PE investors who acquired medical practices that do not already have in-depth digital platforms in their quest to streamline communications and patient payments.
Starting from scratch is a timely undertaking, said Kurapati, noting it can take as long as a year for a digital payment platform to be created and implemented. “This is not good-will stuff. It’s the bottom line that reflects in the value of the business,” he said.
