Four Ways to Implement Automation into Your Healthcare Practice Management Software

When we discuss automation, or adopting new digital technology, sometimes practitioners think this means buying the latest and greatest devices; however, that’s not the only way to do so. A key area of focus when it comes to automation is at the point of payment. Why? In the healthcare space, the billing process is usually the first and last interaction a patient has with a provider. A negative experience could impact their bottom line. Here are four ways that including payment automation features within the software solutions you offer to your healthcare customers can help create a winning strategy for their practice.

In-Office Payments

Collecting patient payments during the visit is the most preferred and most efficient way for practices to get paid. Traditionally, the most common forms of payment include cash, check or credit/debit cards. With the growth in payment technology, new trends have emerged that are giving these foundational methods a “run for their money.” These trends include contactless payments, which allow patients to pay quickly by simply tapping their card or smartphone near the payment terminal.

Online and Mobile Solutions

When there’s an outstanding balance on a patient’s account, a merchant can either send them a paper bill or wait for them to come to their next appointment to pay. This causes many practices to typically have a large number of outstanding balances during any given month, which can have a very negative effect on their cash flow. But what if the practice offered their patients a way to pay their balance more quickly and conveniently?

Customer Statements automates the process of manually sending statements, making it easy and hassle-free to collect outstanding patient balances. Here’s how it works:

  • A statement is generated within your software solution then automatically pushed to the Global Payments Integrated gateway.
  • Global Payments Integrated sends the statement out via text or email to the customer with a unique statement profile link.
  • Customers authenticate their family name and date of birth (optional).
  • They can view the statement and pay their outstanding balance.
  • Your software solution is automatically updated with the payment information.

Recurring Payments

Having patients’ cards on file gives practitioners the ability to securely store credit cards which can be used for a future transaction. No more taking payments over the phone, which can lead to miscommunication and take valuable time away from staff. Keeping credit cards on file can also decrease the number of outstanding patient balances..

Decline Minimizer, our automated system of updating expired or outdated card information, saves practices the time, effort and expense of tracking down the information manually - thereby reducing card declines.

Patient Ledger

Practice management systems should have capabilities to automate payments by posting directly to the patient’s account rather than manually entering each transaction. This creates efficiency in auto-posting payments to the patient ledger and saves staff time at the end of the day. Creating a process to take payments, offering payment plans and using an automated system for posting, saves time and creates a better workflow for staff and patients.

Embrace the modern trends of digitalization. These capabilities can make your clients’ practices more profitable and more efficient, and will allow them to focus on taking care of their patients.
Automation is key to a successful practice. To learn more about our integrated payment processing solutions, contact us today.