Protecting Revenue and Patient Relationships During Our Pandemic

Practices have begun to resume services and urge patients to resume care, especially patients who’ve put it off because of anxiety about COVID-19. While ensuring (and communicating about) patient safety naturally takes center stage, the revenue side of practice management needs extra attention, too. Patients may hesitate to visit your office not just because of fear of infection, but because of financial concerns. Some patients face uncertainty about their job security. Some may have already suffered a job loss (and even a corresponding loss of insurance). For patients who are struggling financially, or simply anxious about money, anything but urgent health concerns may be pushed to the back burner—even though this might increase the risk of more dangerous problems down the road. Of course, practice managers and physician owners also have their own financial concerns to contend with. Generating and capturing revenue is crucial to ensure employees can be retained and the bottom line remains healthy, especially as government supports expire. The high cost-sharing many patients face may seem like a formidable obstacle when patients are already nervous. But there are ways you can shore up your practice’s financial picture and collect more effectively from patients—without jeopardizing your patient relationships. In fact, with the right efforts, your practice may be able to improve both your financial picture and the patient experience. Provide accurate information One way practices can help reassure patients is by helping them get a handle on their costs. Often, the out-of-pocket owed is less than patients fear. Even when it will be more than they hoped, patients will be better served by a straightforward and honest conversation about costs. Providing accurate information depends on staff training and technology. Be sure your schedulers are aware of how to access an up-to-date estimate of costs from your patients’ health plans. Proper training, including role-playing, can help staff become more comfortable with broaching financial terms. Sharing this information with patients at the time of scheduling also provides an opportunity to set up a credit card on-file to process payments after services are provided. Storing a credit card (in a PCI-compliant