4 Key payment trends impacting physician practices

For a modern medical practice, efficiency is everything. Labor costs continue to increase, putting a pinch on practices that are still recovering from pandemic shutdowns. An August 2022 snapshot of practices shows that, although physician productivity is increasing, expenses are growing faster than reimbursements. Every person in the practice must work at peak efficiency, from the physicians and nurse practitioners to assistants, front-office staff, medical billers and coders. Reducing manual processes can result in increased revenue while freeing up staff to perform more value-added functions to grow the practice or expand service offerings. Receivables are the lifeblood of every practice. However, many practices still send paper statements and limit means of electronic payment that patients increasingly prefer. Hendersonville Pediatrics, which serves Western North Carolina, faced this situation, with paper statements that confused and frustrated families and resulted in increased call volume. By adopting electronic statement and payment processes, the pediatrics practice increased total online payments by 123% and total patient payment volume by 82% while greatly reducing call volume that was sapping employee productivity.