• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Behavioral Health
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Patient Engagement
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
    • Social Determinants of Health
  • Digital Health
    • AI
    • Blockchain
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Life Sciences
  • Investments
  • M&A
  • Value-based Care
    • Accountable Care (ACOs)
    • Medicare Advantage

Survey: Providers & Patients Disagree on How Long It Takes Patients to Pay

by Jasmine Pennic 03/07/2017 Leave a Comment

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Hospital CFO_New Financing Program Minimizes Impact of ICD-10 Revenue Delay for Private Practices_revenue cycle management

Providers and patients disagree on how long it takes patients to pay, according to key findings from Navicure’s first Patient Payment Check-Up. The recent survey conducted by HIMSS Analytics and fielded in January 2017 assesses differences in attitudes and behavior between those billing for healthcare and those paying for it. 

The survey reveals over half of providers (51%) say it takes their average patient more than three months to pay their full balance. Only 18 percent of patients claim it took them longer than three months to pay their last balance. Consumer confusion is likely caused by multiple statements. To eliminate this confusion, providers can utilize credit card-on-file (CCOF) to eliminate statements. Other key findings from the survey include: 

– 75 percent of provider organizations claim to be able to provide a cost estimate upon request, yet less than 25 percent of patients requested one on their last visit. This indicates that healthcare consumerism is still maturing, and most patients do not know that they can get an estimate before or at the time of service. Providers have an opportunity to improve patient satisfaction by proactively offering estimates.

– Among payment methods that a provider organization can offer its patients, patients view CCOF as their preferred method for charges of $200 or less. Additional patient preferences are patient portal (18%), provider website (16%) and automated payment plans (9%).

– CCOF is viewed by providers as the best way to improve patient collections.

– Twenty percent view CCOF as the best way to reduce cost of collections (22% prefer online bill pay), 20 percent view CCOF as the best way to reduce patient days in accounts receivable, and 29 percent view CCOF as the best way to reduce bad debt and write-offs. Despite broad patient acceptance of CCOF (78%), only 20 percent of providers currently utilize CCOF today.

“Our study indicates strong patient interest in more convenient ways to understand and pay their bills. Ironically, patient demand is ahead of current hospital and practice adoption,” said Jim Denny, founder, president and CEO of Navicure. “A new generation of tools are available to improve patient satisfaction and allow healthcare organizations to collect more, faster, and at less cost. The return on investment is phenomenal. We’re seeing a lot of interest in our patient payment solutions, especially among organizations with a high and growing percentage of patient revenue.”

Survey Background/Methodology

Deployed as a combination of two quantitative surveys, research assessed both patients and providers.

·        All patient survey participants receive care from a healthcare provider at least once per year. Respondents represented a broad range of education levels, employment statuses, annual household incomes, locales and ages. Notably, 45 percent of patient respondents have an annual household income of less than $61,000, 62 percent are 35 to 74 years old and 36 percent are millennials.

·        A large percentage of provider survey respondents are physicians or other healthcare providers (75%), practice administrators (12%) and c-suite executives (8%). Participants are employed by varying organization types and specialties: 45 percent work in an acute inpatient hospital or healthcare network and 55 percent work in an ambulatory organization.

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Print

Tagged With: behavior, himss, HIMSS Analytics, millennials, Navicure, patient payment, Patient Portal, Patient Satisfaction, physicians, Portal

Tap Native

Get in-depth healthcare technology analysis and commentary delivered straight to your email weekly

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to HIT Consultant

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly.

Submit a Tip or Pitch

Featured Interview

Reach7 Diabetes Studios Founder Chun Yong on Reimagining Chronic Care with a Concierge Medical Model

Most-Read

KLAS Report: Oracle Health Faces Customer Losses and Declining Satisfaction

KLAS Report: Oracle Health Faces Customer Losses and Declining Satisfaction

Tempus AI Acquires Digital Pathology Leader Paige for $81.25M

M&A:Tempus AI Acquires Digital Pathology Leader Paige for $81.25M

Mira Launches Ultra4™, the First At-Home Hormone Monitor with Lab-Quality Insights

Femtech: Mira Launches Ultra4™, the First At-Home Hormone Monitor with Lab-Quality Insights

Preparing for the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’: How Digitization Can Streamline Medicaid Eligibility & Social Care Delivery

Preparing for the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’: How Digitization Can Streamline Medicaid Eligibility & Social Care Delivery

How Healthcare CIOs Can Solve the Unstructured Data Crisis and Reduce Storage Costs

How Healthcare CIOs Can Solve the Unstructured Data Crisis and Reduce Storage Costs

Healthcare C-Suite Acknowledges AI Potential but Lacks Trust

Sage Growth Partners Report: Healthcare C-Suite Acknowledges AI Potential but Lacks Trust

EVERSANA and Waltz Health Merge to Redefine Pharmaceutical Commercialization

EVERSANA and Waltz Health Merge to Redefine Pharmaceutical Commercialization

Advancing Diabetes Care: Combating Burnout and Harnessing Technology

Advancing Diabetes Care: Combating Burnout and Harnessing Technology

White House Event Unveils CMS Health Tech Ecosystem Initiative

White House Event Unveils CMS Health Tech Ecosystem Initiative

Meaningful Use Penalties_Meaningful Use_Partial Code Free_Senators Urge CMS to Establish Clear Metrics for ICD-10 Testing

CMS Finalizes TEAM Model: A New Era of Value-Based Surgical Care

Secondary Sidebar

Footer

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Reprints and Permissions
  • Submit An Op-Ed
  • Contact
  • Subscribe

Editorial Coverage

  • Opinion
  • Health IT
    • Care Coordination
    • EMR/EHR
    • Interoperability
    • Population Health Management
    • Revenue Cycle Management
  • Digital Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Blockchain Tech
    • Precision Medicine
    • Telehealth
    • Wearables
  • Startups
  • Value-Based Care
    • Accountable Care
    • Medicare Advantage

Connect

Subscribe to HIT Consultant Media

Latest insightful articles delivered straight to your inbox weekly

Copyright © 2025. HIT Consultant Media. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy |