August 15, 2012 •Brian Watson
Even though it’s fraught with research, analysis, and due diligence, it often seems like the easiest part of a patient statement redesign is the decision to actually, you know, start the process.
After that, it gets a little tricky. What are you goals and objectives? Are you adding new billing technology or just looking to boost revenue metrics by improving statement readability and effectiveness? Is it a total reboot, or something more along the lines of incremental change? And which organizational silos will have a hand in the process?
Not to worry, however. Approaching statement redesign systematically is a solid way to ensure that those issues (and more) are properly hashed and re-hashed during the application development process. In other words, researching best-practice billing trends, thoroughly assessing internal patient accounting data, and creating a detailed strategic plan should provide a really good head-start on your path to patient statement effectiveness.
As for the issue of where statement input should come from, here are four groups that, in our experience, deserve a comfy seat at the program development table:
1). Patient Accounting. When it comes to statement design, input from patient finance is an absolute must. First off, they’re the authority for all things patient billing and revenue in your organization and usually possess an ear-to-the-ground understanding of what’s working from a billing and payment standpoint, and what still has room for improvement.
That understanding is bolstered by access to a truly massive amount of accounting data that can help evaluate how your performance measures-up on key financial and patient service indicators. Plus a good working knowledge of current patient billing and payment trends, policies, and best practices.
Then there’s their billing experience and practical, day-to-day revenue cycle expertise. Patient financial professionals can help supply the basis for statement optimization: do you use a lock-box (and need a specialized bar code)? What about the payment types you accept, or information about the various payment channels you use? Do you offer an English-as-a-Second-Language statement? And what billing instructions, FAQs, statement messaging and related details do you currently use (or what to incorporate)?
Involving patient finance early on (and throughout the design process) is a really good way to go about getting both answers to nitty-gritty questions like those and the ideas you’ll need to build a clear, concise, patient friendly statement.
2). Marketing. In an intensely competitive healthcare marketplace, establishing a strong brand promise is one important way to distinguish your organization from competitors.
Because statements are sent to all patients treated by your practice with a self pay balance, they have immense potential as a brand-building and communications vehicle. And that’s why marketing needs to be an integral part of the statement design process.
They can start by helping to ensure that your branding principles and guidelines (including logo, color scheme, and proprietary design elements) are properly reflected on your patient statements. Then follow up on that initial brand consultation by continually sharpening statement messaging and TransPromo billing advertisements so that they leverage your current print, web, and social media strategies for patient acquisition and growth.
3). Information Technology. From file setup through electronic statement storage, IT plays an increasingly important role in statement processing program development.
That’s because today’s best-class statement processing solutions are light-years from standard ink-on-paper print and mail applications. They involve complex stuff like automated address cleansing technology, custom file enhancement, deep-dive reporting, point of service payment, lock-box integration, and secure credit card processing (among many, many others).And that’s without even including the key responsibilities IT assumes in supporting EBPP solutions and the online patient billing and payment side of the statement processing equation.
All those applications and emerging technologies require the deft, skilled touch of your IT staff to operate smoothly. And involving them early in the program build is a good way to ensure that your statement processing program is properly automated and optimized to accelerate revenue and save you loads of time and money.
4). Your Patients. Patients are the sole target audience for all the billing correspondence your organization delivers. So why is it that they often have such a small stake in the statement design process? Their opinion about statement readability and ease-of-payment is pretty much the definition of critical, after all. You may think that your statements are intuitive and patient friendly. And I might posit that they’re eminently clean, clear, and easy-to-understand. But are they really?
The only way to know for sure is by engaging patients in the process. Our best-practice advice? Test early and test often. Fortunately it doesn’t have to be a long, drawn-out, complicated undertaking. For example, usability guru Jakob Nielsen found that small tests with 5 users find nearly 85% of the issues with a design. Enlisting patients in small-scale focus groups and usability scenarios to test how effective your statements are in communicating key billing details and facilitating balance payment are a great way to uncover potential communication issues that might otherwise slip under the radar.
The last group to engage for statement design tips and print and mail program advice? Your statement processing partner, of course. Leaning on their considerable billing and payment experience is a smart way to ensure that your statements are concise, easy-to-understand, and help enhance and accelerate self pay revenue. Discover some of our most effective patient statement best practices in our latest free whitepaper, Building a Better Bill: Why Good Statement Design Matters (And How You Can Get It).
Do any other departments in your organization get a say in patient statement design? Let us know which (and why).