Virtual and remote healthcare platforms really haven’t been a flashpoint of consumer demand. Basic portals have been available for a while, owing to the completion of healthcare’s years-long process of converting to electronic health records and regulatory encouragement. “Availability” was not evidence of use, however, and consumers have typically not rushed to register a portal account. That will change in 2020. Now, as most Americans stay home to limit the spread of coronavirus, we’re seeing consumers and providers show much more interest in patient portals and telehealth programs. Thankfully, it has become easier than ever to deliver virtual healthcare. The President’s national emergency declaration removed many barriers to the adoption of patient portals and telehealth, so more patients can access care remotely. In an editorial for the Kansas City Star, CMS Administrator Seema Varma said that as a result of these measures, “all Americans can receive telehealth services in their homes, through their smartphones, for any medically-appropriate purpose. This increased flexibility will allow the healthcare system to prioritize in-person care for those who need it most and minimize unnecessary use of personal protective equipment.” So, how can providers maximize the use of virtual healthcare channels – especially when health services are under increasing pressure? Raising awareness of the role of patient portals in response to Covid-19 Those who might not have engaged with digital life much in the past are now getting used to ordering food online and speaking to family on video and are likely to be more open to the concept of virtual care. Providers like the idea of telehealth and the efficiencies that come with it but are currently more focused on keeping people away from situations that may lead to infection – like a visit to the doctor’s office. That immediate need and consumers’ expanded interest may be the perfect scenario that creates a tipping point for telehealth – both in the immediate weeks and months ahead, as well as on an ongoing basis. Providers must make sure consumers are aware of digital alternatives, however, and be proactive in demonstrating how the patient portal makes their healthcare journey easier and safer. Consumers have no limits to the information they want about Covid-19. Portals are useful in communicating up-to-the-minute news and providing guidance around symptoms, testing and keeping safe from infection. Beyond the care focus, the portal presents patients with a convenient, private and full service means to handle payments, without any staff engagement required. Portals offer a sense of security, too, and – to protect patients from fraud – providers should take a multi-layered approach to protecting the portal, including two-factor patient identity verification, device recognition and extra checks where a log-in request looks suspicious. Positioning patient portals as the future of healthcare The coronavirus crisis stretches material and people resources to their limits. Using technology to gain efficiencies and reduce some of the workload through automation or patient self-help capabilities are critically important; patient portals are playing an increasing role to help manage the tremendous demands being placed on the healthcare system. But, beyond the immediate coronavirus needs, no one really knows what business-as-usual will look like. The Covid-19 response is challenging many deep-rooted norms around how we deliver healthcare. Managing the administrative aspects of health online will very likely become the default. As providers use patient portals to their fullest potential in the short-term, there is a huge opportunity to demonstrate the true value of virtual care – and transform the healthcare industry for the long-term. Find out more about how to optimize your patient portal to help your patients stay safe as they access care during the coronavirus pandemic.

As COVID-19 cases climb in the U.S., healthcare providers are strategizing on ways to prioritize testing for specific patient populations and determine overall treatment plans. Already, the world has identified that people age 65 and older, and those with underlying medical conditions, are more susceptible to severe symptoms from the coronavirus. Another group who could be at greater risk? Those individuals with barriers to health, like social determinants. Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the non-medical factors of healthcare that account for up to 80 percent of health outcomes. When patients struggle with access to care or access to medication, they’re less likely to follow treatment plans or show up to important follow-up visits. In the case of the coronavirus, some providers are now considering SDOH to flag particular data fields in an attempt to identify patients with access to care challenges, specifically where a remote health service or telehealth option would be especially helpful. Drive-thru coronavirus testing sites are popping up across the country, and healthcare facilities in all states are encouraging individuals to leverage telehealth solutions instead of flooding sites with in-person visits. SDOH screening could assist in proactively identifying individuals who need to be routed to different care channels. Consider the following: Patients screened for testing may live outside of driving distance to a hospital or clinic. Should these individuals be guided to a different testing option or alternative location? Some people screened for a test might live alone, without a vehicle, and are unable or unwilling to walk to a testing location. Those with symptoms are discouraged from using public transit, so is at-home testing a better option?Additionally, those who live alone without a vehicle may need a proactive check-in to ensure they have no untested symptoms. Could that help prevent a 911 call and additional stress on the emergency department? Proactively screening a patient population by  “access to care” data could enable a provider to  expand its coronavirus care strategy and consider information that might mitigate future surges in coronavirus cases and ED and clinic visits. Giving attention to patients or members with non-clinical needs and pairing them with the right engagement strategy before they require an escalated response can have a positive impact on clinical services. “Integrating SDOH data into clinical systems is something providers are just beginning to do, but the response required by COVID-19 presents an opportunity to accelerate that,” said Karly Rowe, Vice President of Product Development for Experian Health. “Identifying at-risk patients who may need help tapping into personalized screening and treatment options could help providers quickly suggest the ideal course of action for individuals, and at the same time conserve resources and contribute to the safety of staff and the larger community.” It’s early days of COVID-19, but data will certainly be a differentiator in managing the first pandemic in the 21st century. “Speed, efficiency and accuracy are critical in situations like what healthcare professionals are facing today,” said Rowe. “Innovative use of data is a big part of delivering on those.”

They used to be little more than clunky messaging platforms, but today, patient portals are the key to a frictionless digital healthcare experience. Consumers can check their medical records and test results with a few clicks. They can schedule appointments, pay bills and renew prescriptions whenever they want. Shifting patient information to portals also increases staff productivity and smooths out several sticking points in the revenue cycle. And with improvements in engagement and efficiency leading to better health outcomes, no wonder 90% of healthcare organizations are putting portals at the heart of the patient experience. But these benefits aren’t without risks. Privacy and security are big concerns for consumers and organizations alike. Patients want to feel reassured their data is safe, while providers want to avoid any reputation-killing headlines about data breaches. Identification and authentication can’t be too complicated though, or the patient experience will suffer. The safest strategy is to use a risk-based multi-layered approach, including identity proofing, fraud management, device recognition and even biometrics. Different levels of security checks can be applied, depending on the likelihood of the person being an imposter. If the information being accessed is particularly sensitive, or when the log-in information doesn’t quite add up, your system should trigger additional checks, such as identity proofing questions. But what are the right questions to ask? The right questions balance risk, trust and proportionality There’s no point seeking security information that could be easily guessed, obtained through a quick Google search or stolen from a patient’s wallet. You need questions only the true consumer would be able to answer – “out of wallet” questions, or knowledge-based authentication. This means the traditional “mother’s surname” question would not be a great choice, as it’s easily discoverable by potential fraudsters. Better questions might relate to the consumer’s city of birth, first car model, first pet’s name or previous address. Of course, these identifiers could still be obtained by nefarious parties, but when used in combination with other identity proofing tactics, it’s a significantly reduced risk. The sweet spot lies in the difference between the consumer’s ability to answer correctly and that of a potential fraudster. Your questions should also be relevant to the consumer and appropriate to the context. For example, a common out-of-wallet question used by financial institutions is to confirm a recent transaction. This ticks the box for security, as only the true consumer would likely know the answer, but in the context of a healthcare portal it could seem odd and out of place. It might make the patient wary and actually do more harm than good in terms of building trust. Progressive questioning lets you use smart logic to select a range of appropriate, varied questions, rotated over time and layered up for additional checks when a certain threshold of risk is perceived. In this way, the patient experience will be flexible, seamless and reassuring, without the burden of excessive admin. How Sutter Health System used better questions to increase enrollment and reduce help desk contacts With around 1.8 million patients actively enrolled, Sutter Health System wanted to offer easy access to their self-service portal, but without accidentally giving anyone access to someone else’s information. They had no true identity proofing process for patients, which led to cumbersome checks, errors and high numbers of calls to the help desk. Introducing the PreciseID® identity-proofing tool meant the team could authenticate users more quickly and reliably, using knowledge-based questions without an arduous process. Now, patients have just four or five simple questions to answer, which are checked against a robust dataset. An online risk assessment verifies the patient’s device and determines whether additional checks are required, balancing security with convenience. Tom Mitchell, Applications Manager at Sutter Health System Office describes working in partnership with Experian Health to find the right set of questions: “It took about a month to really hone in on the types of questions and the frequency of questions needed to achieve a level of accuracy that would equate to properly identified patients. You need to select what is important to you and Experian will work with you to make sure you ask the right questions.” Not only has this increased the number of positive patient matches, it’s also reduced the number of people trying to contact the help desk with password issues. Tom says: “We’re always trying to reduce the number of contacts to the help desk. Before integrating with self-service enrollment, patients would have to fill out a paper form or call our contact center, in which case a live person would have to go through some validation processes of our own. It was a fairly cumbersome, long process without this piece of validation.” Find out more about how PreciseID could help you ask the right questions for better portal protection.

COVID-19 is beginning to stress the healthcare system, and typical protocols are being upended. But health systems and medical groups are already rising to the challenge of getting patients tested while, at the same time, prioritizing the protection of their communities and staffs. Below are some solutions being implemented: Online screening Many providers are tapping into online scheduling solutions, responding to the COVID-19 crisis with simple splash pages. Posting questions that screen for symptoms can channel patients seeking testing/treatment for COVID-19 down a specific pathway to get the care they need. Those who need other types of care can still book through the solution, directing them to the right provider and appointment. Screening paths allow access to be prioritized and managed accordingly. Mobile testing Providers are also using mobile test units. These enable providers to administer more tests in a geographically diverse manner, without having to expose their internal clinic and hospital environments to contagion. Patients can simply drive through and receive a test while remaining in their car. Some health systems are combining this with online scheduling, allowing patients to schedule appointment slots for testing. This helps manage the flow of patients, reducing call center volume. Health plans are also modifying Some health plans are taking a similar approach, using mobile testing units and a call center scheduling platform to book testing appointment slots for members. Likewise, they can send a link enabling members to self-schedule for a testing slot via text message or email. This type of proactive member engagement to vulnerable populations is key to reducing the impact on Emergency Departments, while helping diagnose individuals so they can get the care they need. Call center operations Call centers are being overwhelmed with volume – and there is more to come. New methodologies to handle the response are complementing normal operations. Some providers have started to publish a dedicated line for COVID-19 calls that connects to a separate call center pod. Others have quickly added scheduling protocols in the scheduling system to route patients to the right care, or mobile-testing unit, based on responses to the questions agents ask. By automating the Q&A in the platform, patients are guided to the right care, and agents need minimal training to assure accuracy. As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow in the U.S., more tactics will be introduced to streamline scheduling, testing and care. Technology will certainly be one key lever for healthcare providers to better serve their communities and keep patients and staff safe.

The number of uninsured American adults has been rising steadily since 2016, reaching a four-year high of 13.7% in the last quarter of 2018. The challenges have been well-documented: low levels of health insurance contribute to health inequality, poor population health, and worse outcomes for individuals as people hold off seeking care. For providers, a growing uninsured population usually leads to an uptick in uncompensated care and a hefty blow to their balance sheet. Affordability is the main driver of this trend (due to rising premiums and tighter household budgets), but a big part of the problem is simply confusion around who is entitled to what. People may have coverage they don’t know about or have forgotten. Media reports and reduced outreach for Obamacare have left many wondering whether support from public insurers is even still available: a Kaiser Family Foundation study in 2018 found that around a third of Americans believed or weren’t sure if the Affordable Care Act had already been repealed. No wonder fewer people are signing up. Finding missing coverage is a challenge for most providers, but with the right discovery strategy, it’s possible to drive down the number of accounts ending up in bad debt collections or written off as charity designations. Top-performing providers use a four-part strategy, encompassing the following: 1. Look beyond self-pay patients For most healthcare providers, the search for missing coverage usually focuses on self-pay patients. In fact, many Medicaid, Medicare and commercially insured patients also have unknown additional coverage. Unearthing this secondary and tertiary coverage can help ensure the full amount is paid. Jason Considine, Senior Vice President and GM of Patient Experience at Experian Health, says: “Finding missing secondary or tertiary coverage for patients with Medicaid or Medicare can help hospitals capture the full amounts they’re entitled to and reduce the risk of revenue loss. Hospitals can claim against any balances not covered by public payers, but only if they look for additional coverage.” This means hospitals shouldn’t focus solely on scrubbing self-pay accounts. By searching additional commercial coverage and combing through Medicare and Medicaid coverage, you might be surprised at the level of reimbursement available for amounts that would otherwise have been written off. 2. Perform coverage checks as soon as possible The sooner you check for coverage, the sooner you can verify the accuracy of the account – and the sooner you can get paid. Essentia Health in Minnesota implemented a coverage discovery strategy that ran comprehensive coverage checks throughout the whole patient process. Patient accounts were scanned before they received care, then again at the time of service. Finally, searches for active insurance were performed 30, 60 and 90 days after service. Kathryn Wrazidlo, Patient Access Director for Essentia Health, says: “We found 67% of coverage for patient accounts that were self-pay or uninsured at the time of pre-service, and 33% at the time of post-service. This has helped patients because we’re actually billing their insurance versus billing them for self-pay. It’s helping staff because they’re billing the insurance company much quicker. There’s less rework. We’re decreasing the amount of time the account is sitting in AR by billing much sooner in the process.” 3. Access the widest possible datasets The whole point of the coverage discovery process is to track down coverage your patient doesn’t know about. So why would you limit your search to what they can tell you? Equally, searching through payer databases within what are often very limited search parameters can be a painstaking process. A more logical approach is to use a search strategy that covers historical data, demographic information and multiple proprietary datasets to cross-check patient accounts for previously unknown coverage. A tool that offers weighted confidence scoring and discrepancy checks can further reduce the risk of false positives and errors. With this approach, Experian Health’s Coverage Discovery tool analyzed more than 16.6 million accounts and found 3.6 million coverages, resulting in $5.8 billion billable charges found in 2018 alone. 4. Digest the data with reliable reporting tools Of course, checking more accounts and accessing wider datasets means you’re going to have far more data to handle. Automated scrubbing tools, quick-look dashboards and reporting software can give you instant access to the information you need. Working with a reliable partner can help you sift the data for additional coverage, and also provide insights into ways to boost workflow efficiencies and make life easier for your team too. Wrazidlo says: “We use the power reporting that’s offered with the Experian product and we also do reporting internally. The reporting helps us know whether the product is working for us or not. We can see how much we are recovering… My staff really enjoy using it.” Find out more about how Coverage Discovery could help you find additional coverage more easily, so you can get paid sooner and in full.

Any kind of identity mix-up is disturbing, but when it occurs within the healthcare system, the fallout can be severe. At best, misidentifying patients leads to lowered consumer confidence, but at worst it can compromise a person’s essential medical treatment. As a healthcare professional, you want to be absolutely certain that comprehensive and correct data is associated with each person who comes in for care, and that you’re utilizing the most advanced measures to make it happen. Universal patient identifiers are an integral part of that goal.  Patient Safety Awareness Week is the perfect time to convey that message clearly and positively. What is Patient Safety Awareness Week Patient Safety Awareness Week, organized by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, is an annual recognition event dedicated to boosting the public’s knowledge about health care safety. In 2020, it runs from March 8th to the 14th. Patient Safety Awareness Week is your ideal opportunity to proactively inform and reassure patients of your commitment to safety. New systems, such as universal patient identifiers (UPI) developed by Experian Health, were created to ensure that patient demographics are as complete and error-free as possible through patient matching. Impact of patient identity problems Many patients may already have concerns about their records, having heard about problems from the news, friends or relatives, or have personally experienced identity misidentification. According to an ECRI Institute report, approximately 30% of the patient data that’s held in electronic health records is either incomplete or inaccurate. So how bad can the damage of patient misidentification be? The Ponemon Institute reported that roughly 86% of all clinicians witnessed a medical error that was caused by patient misidentification. And most disturbing: a study by the National Institutes of Health discovered more than half of all the deaths attributed to medical errors are a result of identity errors. Identification mistakes don’t just lead to unnecessary patient suffering either. These unforced errors undermine the very foundation of healthcare organization: trust. The organization that makes them suffers a serious blow to their brand. How patient identity mistakes are made Human error has been most often to blame for patient identity mistakes. Every day, healthcare providers handle an astonishing influx of information, as hundreds of thousands of electronic patient records flow in from a vast number of different systems and departments. All the while patients’ names and addresses change, which in turn requires updates. Inputting all that data manually is a major challenge, and inconsistencies typically occur in the data entry process. In fact, the National Center for Biotechnology Information found that the greatest proportion of mismatches are centered around a patient’s middle name and their Social Security numbers. Misspellings and entering first, last, and middle names into the wrong fields are also common. Once identity mistakes are entered, a patient can have duplicate records and disparate facts, matching past diagnoses and prescribed medications. Billing problems, too, can result. A patient’s statements might not be sent to the correct mailing address, resulting in them experiencing unnecessary credit troubles. Solutions to identity problems In order to consistently and correctly match patients with their medical records, innovative technology has been developed. UPIs use Experian’s consumer demographic information and methodologies to identify record matches and duplicates in a patient’s file. Once a unique UPI is created for the patient, the potential for identification mix-ups is vastly reduced. More, UPIs lead to efficiencies that drive costs down for all concerned. It’s expensive and laborious for healthcare provider employees to record and update such a high volume of patient data by hand. Rectifying mistakes is not only time-consuming, it can cause insurance issues to arise. Certainly, obtaining the best treatment is paramount to patients, but keeping healthcare costs to a minimum is also important. 79 million Americans are struggling with overwhelming medical liabilities, found The Commonwealth Fund. However, a survey conducted by Black Book found that patient matching discrepancies can lead to nearly $2,000 in extra inpatient costs per person. No one should pay more than they have to for their healthcare, and UPIs can make sure bills are appropriately assessed.  For this year’s Patient Safety Awareness Week, spread the word to your patients that measures have been put into place to protect their identity. As of the end of 2019, every person in the U.S. has been assigned a UPI, and correct and complete information will be associated with each patient. Everyone should be aware that you are taking steps to ensure the accuracy of their medical records — which keeps them safe and their financial obligations down.

Recovering underpayments from commercial insurers costs the healthcare industry billions every year. When payments come up short against what the provider expects, it’s not just the missing revenue that puts a dent in the bottom line – the staff time spent on reprocessing bills takes an extra bite out of the organization’s margins. Underpayments can be attributed to confusion around changing payer policies, inadequate claims data and simple human error. But when providers are focused on creating the best possible patient experience, keeping track of payer behavior is a task that’s easily crowded out. Unfortunately, failing to spot underpayments or keep tabs on those policy changes could lead to bigger revenue loss further down the line, in the time-suck that is collections recovery. From the payer’s perspective, it can be hard to understand why providers don’t just fill out claims according to the agreed rules. For providers, those rules seem to be in constant flux and different for each insurer. Ultimately, it’s a lack of communication that’s at the heart of the problem. Clean claims are only possible when payers tell providers exactly what they need, and providers have the systems in place to deliver that and check that payers are themselves following those rules. Within the industry, we already measure so many aspects of the revenue cycle, but are we paying enough attention to the payer-provider relationship? Is communication the missing metric? Three essential ingredients for a healthy payer-provider relationship Managing payer contracts can often be time consuming, complex and costly. Many healthcare providers are focusing on three strategies to help build better relationships with their payers, to take the stress out of this process and ensure they get reimbursed quickly and fully: Better communication. When you’re clear about what your payers need, you can make sure all your staff and systems are set up to deliver that. It’s impossible to fix the sticking points in your claims processing if you don’t know where they are. With a method to support better communication with payers, you can negotiate contracts that better suit both parties, keep track of changes to payer policies and move quickly when payers aren’t holding up their end of the bargain. You’ll know when a payer has made a payment at an out-of-network rate or reverted to rates in a previous policy and you’ll have the data your payer needs for a quicker recovery process. Two-way accountability. One way to build a better relationship with your payers is to hold each other accountable. Providers need to have systems in place to be able to hold payers to account for underpayments, but also to hold themselves to account for under billing. With a robust contract management tool, you can monitor payer compliance with contract terms and clarify what’s expected on your side to ensure you submit clean claims every time. Efficient processes: When the payer landscape is constantly changing, you need to have solid workflows to manage your claims processes as efficiently as possible. Automation and software solutions can help you minimize staff time spent manually checking payer policies, as well as generating the data you need to challenge underpayments. With a dashboard showing you real time claims data all in one place, your team will be able to identify, discuss and resolve queries with payers much more quickly than with disparate manual systems. How better payer monitoring saved one practice group $3.5 million in a single year In 2007, UCLA Health System Faculty Practice Group (UCLA FPG) saw $4 million go uncollected, largely down to difficulties tracking payer contracts. As the volume of payer contracts grew, it was harder to catch underpayments and manage the recovery process. Measha Ford, Director of Revenue Integrity at UCLA FPG says: “Before using Contract Manager, we didn’t have a method in place to track under and overpayments so there was a lot of lost revenue.” Without an efficient system in place, it was extremely challenging to manage collections data, monitor payer performance and spot when claims were being paid at out-of-network rates. This put UCLA FPG in a tough position to try to negotiate the best possible contracts with payers. By implementing an automated system, UCLA FPG could keep a closer check on payer contracts, eventually sustaining a recovery rate of 80% and recouping $3.5 million in one fiscal year. The data collected has not only helped to build a more predictable revenue cycle, but also supports more strategic decision-making when modeling new and amended contracts. And for Measha and her team, being armed with up to date, reliable data makes managing the relationships with payers so much easier, saving them time and effort that can be better used elsewhere. Find out more about how Experian Health Contract Manager can help you create friction-free interactions with your payers.

With Google’s acquisition of Fitbit in November 2019 and Apple’s recent foray into smartphone-based clinical research, the ‘big four’ tech giants are ramping up their efforts to take a slice of the $3.6 trillion healthcare industry pie. These investments aren’t new. Between 2013 and 2017, Apple, Microsoft and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, filed a combined 300 health-related patents, while Amazon has been looking to expand into the pharmacy space since the early 2000s. Historically, it hasn’t been easy for new players to get into the healthcare game. Up to now, tech companies have mostly stayed in their lanes, using their expertise in cloud-based computing, artificial intelligence and supply chain management to break into health markets around the edges. What gives them a big advantage now is the rise of healthcare consumerism, especially in the digital realm. Patients expect to be treated as individuals, with communications and services that are convenient and tailored to their needs. The personalization that so delights them is powered by their own health data and a focus on the consumer experience – two of the tech companies’ biggest strengths. Providing a consumer-centric experience has been challenging for the healthcare industry. In fact, it’s been challenging for many legacy industries (banking, insurance, etc.). Amazon and others have a head start in being able to leverage vast quantities of consumer data and turn insights about their customers’ lifestyles, behaviors and preferences into a better consumer experience. How can healthcare providers compete? Understanding consumer data is key to a better patient experience and better population health The buzz around consumer data opportunities isn’t limited to the tech world. Recognizing the role of consumer data in improving both the patient experience and population health, more health systems are investing heavily in data analytics, looking at how they use data to market to their consumers and address the social determinants of health. Mindy Pankoke, Senior Product Manager for Experian Health, says: “Consumer data is becoming more important in healthcare because patients are people. They're more than a clinical chart or claims form. They have lifestyles, they have interests, they have behaviors. This is called consumer data. ‘Social determinants of health’ has become a huge buzzword in the healthcare industry and it's more than buzz. It's data about people's lifestyles that we can use to improve their health.” Over 80% of health outcomes are attributed to the social determinants of health, so knowing who your patients are and what they need is increasingly important if you want to improve their wellbeing. When you understand what’s going on in your patients’ lives, you’ll know whether they need assistance with transportation, understanding their healthcare information, managing a care plan or accessing healthy food. You can communicate with them in the most effective way and point them towards services that could help them access care and avoid more serious conditions. And even better, much of this can be done through time-saving automation tools. Where to start with consumer data Today’s leading healthcare providers are using consumer data in three main areas: 1. Streamlining patient communications Whether a patient is getting treatment for a broken leg or multiple chronic conditions, their healthcare journey probably involves hundreds of touchpoints with your organization. Consumer data helps you cut to the chase and give them the exact information they need to make their next decision or complete their next task, in the most convenient way. Data analytics allow you to create a slicker patient experience, by giving the right message in the right format – whether that’s in marketing to new patients, sending bill reminders, or encouraging wellness checks. 2. Segmenting patients according to social determinants of health In a study of 78 social needs programs published this month, Health Affairs reported that health systems invested more than $2.5 billion in interventions focused on housing, employment, education, food security, community and transportation, between 2017-2019. Clearly, some patients will benefit from these services, while others won’t. There’s no point giving the same information to every patient. Consumer data lets you segment your patient population and target information about social programs to the ones who need them most. 3. Creating bespoke services for your specific patient population Consumer insights tell you exactly what’s blocking your particular patient population from accessing care, now and in the future. You’ll know how many have difficulty attending appointments, how many might struggle to read complicated instructions and how many will be too busy to download and use your new healthy recipe app. Analyzing your population’s needs and tendencies allows you to predict future demand for different services and develop interventions to solve those specific challenges. Future-proof your consumer data strategy by working with a trusted partner As the big tech companies are coming to discover, healthcare data regulations are complex. You need to know where your data comes from, for the sake of both accuracy and permissibility. Working with a trusted data vendor in the health space can help ensure the reliability and integrity of your data, as they will have expertise in the appropriate use of consumer data in healthcare. They’ll help you pull insights from only the most relevant, current data, so you can build a competitive consumer experience on the strongest foundations. Find out more about how Experian Health’s consumer data analytics can give you a holistic view of your patients and the social determinants that affect their health.

For many patients, unanticipated healthcare bills are up there with car breakdowns and untimely home repairs. No one likes a surprise bill. But when your washing machine is on its last legs, you probably do a bit of shopping around to find the best price for a replacement. Are patients doing the same when it comes to their healthcare provider? This is the idea behind recent industry and legislative moves to improve price transparency in healthcare. Recognizing that surprise billing leaves patients feeling stressed out and anxious, lawmakers are working to find a solution that would end ‘balance billing’, where patients are billed the difference between what providers charge and what insurers will pay. These bills often come as a shock, firstly, because the patient didn’t expect the bill in the first place and secondly, because the complexities associated with healthcare expenses create opacity around the actual cost of care. How transparent pricing builds a better patient experience In theory, an end to balance billing in favor of more transparent pricing should improve the patient financial experience. The hope is it leads to more competition and therefore better choice and quality overall. CMS Administrator, Seema Varma, says: "We want to empower consumers and patients to shop around for their health care and pick the provider that works best for them." However, some believe patients don’t yet think of healthcare providers in the same way as other consumer goods. Larry Levitt, Executive Vice President of Health Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation says: “Most patients don’t think of healthcare as something you can shop around for, and there’s not much incentive when you don’t foot most of the bill directly.” Still, many healthcare organizations are on board. Giving patients greater clarity through more accurate pricing estimates and proactive communication about who pays what should reduce sticker shock, creating a better patient experience. Patient collections are likely to be a smoother and more cost-effective process, while consumer loyalty will be reinforced. All in, transparent pricing is an increasingly useful strategy to improve revenue alongside patient satisfaction. So, how should providers be using transparent pricing to improve the patient experience? How to use transparent pricing to build a better patient experience 1. Provide proactive pricing info to patients Don’t leave your patients to be surprised. Let them know upfront what the cost of treatment is going to be, including their coverage status, so they can plan ahead with confidence instead of heading into treatment with no clue as to what their final bill will be. Digital platforms can help you make this a seamless experience. A text-to-mobile solution such as Patient Financial Advisor gives patients a personalized and simple-to-read cost estimate prior to their healthcare visit and secure links to their bills so they don’t have to chase your collections team for updates. 2. Create a personalized payment experience Transparent pricing isn’t just about providing accurate estimates pre-service. It’s about seeing each patient as an individual with different circumstances, needs and preferences. A price transparency tool can reveal valuable insights about a patient’s specific situation and propensity to pay. With that, you can tailor the information you give them, the way you communicate and any payment plans you might want to recommend. For example, let’s say a patient is due to have an MRI, which will cost $650 with their high deductible health plan. For many, that’s a lot of money. Imagine how much less stressful the experience could be if you’re able to text them in advance to let them know what they owe and give them flexible payment options to manage the cost. 3. Make it easy for patients to pay One simple way to improve collections is to make the payment process as accessible and frictionless as possible. Patients have come to expect a similar consumer experience to what they’d get with online banking, booking travel or online grocery shopping. With the data-driven technology available today, it’s entirely possible for providers to deliver this. Self-service dashboards and tools are a way for patients to see what various procedures might cost and pay their bills whenever is most convenient. These can let patients apply for charity care, update their insurance details and even schedule appointments, giving them greater financial confidence and control over the process. Find out more about how to set up personalized and compassionate pricing estimates and payment options.