Four ways innovative payment solutions can help healthcare providers

Healthcare payments in the US are often complex, time-intensive, and costly – for both patients and providers*. Clinics, hospitals, and specialty medical practices often struggle to make the billing and payment process easy for all parties involved. As a result, patients often feel frustrated paying their medical costs and may even switch providers* to find a better payments experience. That’s why it is critical for healthcare systems to invest in integrated digital payment solutions that streamline financial operations, eliminate manual processes, and reduce processing costs.

Traditionally, patients receive paper bills in the mail after visiting a healthcare provider and remit payment either in the mail or in person. Not only is this time-intensive and cumbersome for patients, but it also requires manual receipt and reconciliation by administrative staff once they receive bill payment. Here are four innovative healthcare payments options to consider instead:

Automated posting

Healthcare systems across the country are realizing the benefits of reducing manual processes for billing, collecting, and reconciling patient medical costs. According to a recent survey of providers, 66%¹  prioritized digitizing and automating their billing process to shorten the time between service delivery and payment, and improve the patient experience. A merchant processing solution that allows automatic posting into your practice management system makes it easy for customers to pay, improving your cash flow while reducing manual entry processes and risks associated with recording patient bills and payments.

Phone payments

Mobile phone ownership in the US is nearly ubiquitous – with 97% of adults owning a mobile phone of any kind, and 92% owning smartphones².  Consequently, creating phone-based healthcare payment processes will greatly increase ease of access for patients and the likelihood of quick payment for providers. Whether patients want to pay by phone call or over a text message, a web-based payment processing solution allows staff to take calls from any workstation and input payment information in real-time.

Online payments

US patients are readily embracing online payment options from healthcare providers – a 2024 report by JP Morgan shows that 75% of American consumers prefer to pay for medical bills online,³ and experts expect this number to rise in coming years. Consider how your practice can adopt an online payments platform that allows patients to pay quickly, easily, and from anywhere – while also freeing up your administrative staff for other critical tasks.

Flexible payment options

As more patients pay out of pocket for medical expenses, there is a greater need for flexible payment options. According to recent research*, 68% want to pay their medical bills by scheduling automatic deductions for recurring payments⁴. Choosing a payment platform that allows patients to set scheduled payments may be just what the doctor ordered.

Healthcare payments don’t have to be painful – consider making investments in these innovative digital payments solutions to improve the patient and provider experience.

*By selecting this link, you will leave Elavon content and enter a third-party website. Elavon is not responsible for the content of, or products and services provided by this third party, nor does it guarantee the system availability or accuracy of information contained in the site. This website is not controlled by Elavon. Please note that the third-party website may have privacy and information security policies that differ from those of Elavon.

1 - https://site.instamed.com/Trends_in_Healthcare_Payments_Annual_Report_2023.pdf

2 - https://www.statista.com/topics/2711/us-smartphone-market/#topicOverview

3 - https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/payments/payment-trends/healthcare-payment-trends

4 - https://www.pymnts.com/healthcare/2023/79percent-of-consumers-want-to-pay-all-medical-bills-from-one-digital-platform/