Atlanta Parent Finds PatientPay Paperless a ‘Win’ for Her, Daughter’s Pediatrician
New Paperless Billing Cited as Convenient, Clear and Fast for Healthcare Consumers, Providers
Libbie Hudson took her daughter to Kids First Pediatrics in suburban Atlanta recently. Unlike most medical practices, if this pediatrician needs to send a bill, it arrives in the Atlanta mother’s inbox and not in her mailbox. Kids First Pediatrics is one of a growing number of medical practices across the U.S. choosing to rid themselves and their patients of paper bills that are costly for the practice to send and confusing for the patients who receive them.
Before her daughter’s doctor opted for the PatientPay Paperless solution, the three biggest annoyances Hudson had with paper bills were “the repetition, the wasting of paper and having to figure out how to get money to the source,” she said. Now Hudson finds that PatientPay helps her better manage healthcare-related expenses “because it is easy and convenient.”
Despite Ms. Hudson’s experience, most medical practices are not responsive to the preference of their patients. A survey of U.S. healthcare consumers by Deloitte found that 70 percent of respondents prefer to get their medical bills online while over 98% of healthcare bills are still initiated with a paper statement. Interestingly though, for healthcare providers, the change is not a difficult one.
Using PatientPay Paperless, when a medical practice issues a bill after it has been adjudicated by the patient’s insurance carrier, the patient receives an email alerting them a bill is available. The patient sees an easy to understand statement that matches perfectly with their Explanation of Benefits. On average nearly three-quarter of patients who receive PatientPay Paperless bills pay them within in 14 days. By contrast, paper bills payment cycle typically runs 120 days.
“We quickly and simply pay most of our bills online except those for healthcare,” Furr said. “The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects that by 2018 there will be over $319 billion in out-of-pocket expenses that will have to be paid by consumers, yet electronic payment methods like PatientPay are overwhelmingly underutilized in the healthcare sector. Consumers want paperless billing and medical practices who adopt it will be better able to save up to $4.00 per payment.”
Hudson, who describes PatientPay Paperless as “awesome,” said it offers benefits to doctors and patients alike. She said “everyone wins.”