Jackson Hospital Significantly Improves Finances With Digital Patient Engagement

Switching from letters and phone calls to automated emails and text messages made the difference, with some help from analytics. Lower insurance payments are transferring much of the financial responsibility to patients. At the same time, patients and families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, through job loss or furlough, are being forced to absorb more costs for even minor and routine services. The patient is now the third-largest payer, behind Medicare and Medicaid, said David Ralston, vice president of revenue cycle at Jackson Hospital.

"The results we are seeing include a multi-pronged solution that brought us up to the latest technology to communicate with patients about their balances. It is a differentiator within our market from larger hospital systems by providing digital communication and a high-tech service center with one business solution," Ralston said. "We wanted to be the first with this type of technology to show that we can provide high-tech communications to go along with the advanced, high-quality healthcare treatment that we provide," he added.