3 Reasons Revenue Cycles Should Make the Most of Patients' Time

Maximizing efficiency at patient access has helped Goshen Health improve wait times, increase point of service collections, and add value to the overall patient experience. Sitting in a hospital waiting room isn't a good use of anyone's time.

"I haven't met a patient yet that comes to the hospital to actually be in patient access," says Sue Plank, director of patient access for the nonprofit, community-owned Goshen Health, a health system based in Goshen, Indiana, with 35 locations across four counties. "They are here for another service. So, any time that they spend in patient access is not [a] value-add to them."

By now it's common knowledge that a bad revenue cycle experience can sour an otherwise positive healthcare encounter. But revenue cycles should aim higher than providing patients with an experience that's not "bad" and instead provide one that's easy, efficient, and makes the most of patients' time. That's why Goshen Health has taken steps to centralize, digitize, and streamline the patient access process to make it easier and quicker for patients to get to their ultimate destination: Their healthcare appointments.