Ask these questions to get to the heart of healthcare payment needs 

Demand is growing for payment processing solutions that help healthcare providers improve the patient payments experience* – along with their practice’s collections rate. Healthcare organizations  of all sizes and specialties – from small dental offices to large medical systems – need holistic solutions that create a simple, positive experience for patients and providers.

Do you have the tools, processes, and staff to do this? Ask yourself these key questions to guide your search for practice management solutions that help collect patient payments more quickly.

1. Do your patients know what their financial responsibilities are?
   The American healthcare system* can be difficult to navigate, and patients may not understand what their financial responsibilities are before or after a medical visit, pharmacy purchase, or other healthcare interaction. Make sure your staff are equipped with educational resources for patients, and help patients remember to pay* with automated reminders, 24-hour payment acceptance, and easy-to-read print/digital receipts.
2. Can you provide options for them to pay?
   Patients may find it difficult to pay their medical expenses*, in part because it is not clear when or how they can make a payment. Our healthcare payments research* shows that 43% of patients prefer contactless and online payment methods, but their medical providers are slow to offer them in their practices. Further, most healthcare providers maintain some kind of patient portal, but have not gotten substantial volumes of patients to use these for making payments or finding cost information. Therefore, you must ensure that your patients are able to pay wherever, whenever – at the point of care, online, by phone and text-to-pay, and via a patient portal.
3. Can you assure your patients that their payments are secure?
   Protecting patient and provider information is critical – cybersecurity incidents* are costly, damage reputations, and harm privacy. Choose an integrated payments platform that complies with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements and enables EMV payment devices that can authenticate cards.

Whether you work in a large healthcare system or manage a small practice, patient payments should be easy and secure. Asking these questions can help you choose the right healthcare payments  solution that fits your needs – ultimately, improving experiences for both patients and providers.

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