Here are five things to know:
1. Patients pay 13 percent more for surgeries today than they did in 2013, according to athenahealth data.
2. Practices must balance the need to collect payments from patients with maintaining a warm, friendly office atmosphere.
3. GHSE’s solution is to shift patient payment collection from the front desk to surgery schedulers.
4. After reviewing a surgeon’s recommended procedure, the patient’s insurance coverage and deductible, the schedulers create a spreadsheet showing costs and relevant billing codes before reviewing the information with patients in a waiting area.
5. Patients appreciate the presentation’s clarity and have reported being glad to know their financial responsibility upfront.
Georgia Hand Shoulder Elbow CEO Lynn Wolff said, “It’s a straightforward conversation…The scheduler says, ‘This is the procedure we plan to do, this is our charge, this is what your insurer will pay, and this is your deductible amount. And we need to collect that before we schedule the surgery.”
More articles on practice management:
9 methods to improve spine practice management
Healthcare cloud computing market to grow at a CAGR of 20.1% by 2020 — 4 key details
At the Becker's 23rd Annual Spine, Orthopedic and Pain Management-Driven ASC + The Future of Spine Conference, taking place June 11-13 in Chicago, spine surgeons, orthopedic leaders and ASC executives will come together to explore minimally invasive techniques, ASC growth strategies and innovations shaping the future of outpatient spine care. Apply for complimentary registration now.
