![]() That estimate is further personalized and refined at the scheduling process, once the system receives the patient's specific insurance information.Īlthough having that pre-service price conversation has increased patients wanting to pay upfront, Sohn says that's not really the goal. "We put in processes and technology to make sure that our patients are seeking care and that we can use the opportunity to talk to them about any payment responsibility they might have before service or at the time of service." Consumers can use the Ascension website to "clearly see, with a few clicks, what the insurance discount and expected patient payment responsibility would be for a procedure based on their insurance," Sohn says. "Ascension really has embraced price transparency," even before the government requirements to do so, Sohn says. The financial clearance process also helps identify any coverage gaps, allowing the health system to help patients navigate and understand their insurance and provide financial assistance if needed. It uses rule-based technology to validate insurance eligibility and network and plan information check medical necessity and obtain insurance prior authorization. Scheduling times have also been slashed from an average of seven minutes to two minutes, thanks to the online option.Īscension uses financial clearance technology that Sohn says "sits on top of our EMR system … we are EMR agnostic, but it does provide us a standardized approach to making sure that every patient entering into any of our health ministries has that same rigor, that same process to ensure that there's financial clearance." However, people are comfortable with technology: Over 15 months, 2.2 million patients have opted to receive digital communication, he says. ![]() "Anytime that people aren't comfortable with the technology, we understand," Sohn says. Patients who would rather not self-schedule, or who have a particularly complex case, have the option to talk to someone instead. After an order is received, patients are sent a personalized link by email or text to schedule the appointment themselves at their own convenience. "The patient doesn't have to leave a physician's office, have a bunch of paper in their hand, and try and transition that bunch of paper to us," he says.Īnother feature allows patients to proactively self-schedule their appointments. For instance, they have technology in place that easily allows physician referrals to come into their system. Here, Sohn walks us through those five steps in the consumer financial journey and what Ascension has done to reduce friction for each.įor most patients, their first interaction with the health system starts with scheduling, which makes "providing an exceptional experience" that's easy and streamlined especially critical. Moreover, "we knew aligning the front-end processes and enabling the technology would streamline and eliminate many of the back-end issues." "We want that to be seamless, we want it to be integrated, we want it to be easy," Sohn says. ![]() They've also implemented R1 RCM technology throughout the patient financial journey that supports the new mission and processes, allowing patients to access technology when and where they wanted to, while still having the ability to talk to a person if that was their preference. "There really needs to be a seamless consumer journey that takes patients from scheduling an appointment, to understanding how much they're going to owe, to checking in for their visit, to making sure that we get financial clearance, and making sure that at the end they can pay their bill online with ease." "These goals are really our North Star," Sohn says.
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