TECHNOLOGY


Improve Your Patients’ Experience Introduce innovative technology BY ANGELA MATTIODA


Is your ASC leveraging technology to improve its patient experience?


If not, it is time to start. According to a recent sur-


vey from Black Book Research, patient engagement technology and other digi- tal communication tools are the missing pieces of the patient satisfaction puzzle. “Involvement with health care con- sumers through technologies is proving to be a significant element of patient satisfaction,” says Doug Brown, man- aging partner of Black Book Research. “Health care consumers more fre- quently interact through electronic media in 2018, and while they value contact with their providers, they don’t have the patience for lacks in hospital interoperability, incorrect billing and access to scheduling and results.” With outpatient volume soaring, competition among ASCs is increas- ingly fierce. This increased competi- tion only ups the ante among provid- ers and requires that administrators make patient satisfaction a top priority. Using the latest technology can help improve communication, set expec- tations, spell out for patients exactly what their insurance will cover and enhance the overall patient experience. Here is where to start:


Digital Payment Options Patient financial


responsibility is


greater than ever before and, con- sequently, patients have become informed consumers with expecta- tions of a first-rate experience. While the patient experience was once seen as a reflection of clinical sat- isfaction, ASCs must do more to earn high marks. A patient’s first contact is with registration, and their last experi- ence is with billing, so providing a good revenue cycle experience is a must.


According to a recent InstaMed


report, 80 percent of patients want digi- tal bill pay from physician offices. Sixty- eight percent of those patients who want to pay bills through an online portal also want digitized bill payment options at the actual practice. Unfortunately for patients, however, most physician offices have a long way to go: Just 20 percent of patients said they can make online bill payments, and 86 percent said they receive paper bills from their providers. Digital payment options can help patients manage their financial respon- sibility and pay their bills in full. These online systems also can improve patient satisfaction by streamlining bill pay, making the process more conve- nient and allowing patients to receive cost estimates.


Eligibility and responsibility esti- mator tools can help patients view the approximate cost of an appoint- ment and budget for medical expenses, decreasing the likelihood they will go without treatment. Additionally, web- based applications can allow patients to apply for financing to cover their outpatient procedures at any time, even while in the waiting room. These appli- cations also can provide patients with a complete breakdown of their insurance carrier’s explanation of benefits (EOB). Secure online platforms can be an


effective tool for driving patient engage- ment. No matter how patients prefer to pay, aim to simplify the process. A flexi- ble patient payment solution helps ASCs collect more efficiently at the point of care or online and 24 hours a day.


Workflow Automation Many facilities struggle with prepar- ing patient charts in a timely fashion. Manually arranging charts means staff must affix pre-printed sticky labels with patient information on each chart


18 ASC FOCUS SEPTEMBER 2018 |www.ascfocus.org


page, and an error can mean reassem- bling the chart from scratch. This painstaking process typically


takes between two to four hours each day, with each chart requiring roughly 10–15 minutes to compile. ASCs can simplify this process and improve the patient experience by using automa- tion tools to prepare patient charts and have them ready for review before the time of service. Workflow automation tools can reduce time-consuming, manual pro- cesses associated with managing patient charts, streamline chart preparation and save business offices time and money. They also can simplify charting opera- tions and increase efficiencies without affecting physician workflow. Paper charts can be prepared for physician use during the patient encounter, and post- operatively, digital charts can be created through barcode scanning technology. Chart automation tools also can eliminate pre-printed forms and remote storage and retrieval fees, identify miss- ing forms, scan A/R documentation and invoices and work in conjunction with billing office workflow tools to expedite the revenue cycle.


By automating communication and reminding patients of upcoming proce- dures, ASCs can reduce cancellations and no-shows. While many ASCs con- tact patients manually to remind them of upcoming procedures, growing outpa- tient volume has made manually calling all patients next to impossible. Thanks to the latest technology, staff that would typically be tasked with manual proce- dure confirmations can now focus on improving the patient experience.


Angela Mattioda is vice president of revenue cycle management services for Surgical Notes RCM in Dallas, Texas. Write her at amattioda@surgicalnotes.com.


The advice and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent official Ambulatory Surgery Center Association policy or opinion.


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