BillingTree Survey finds healthcare providers slow to adopt patient payment technology

PHOENIX, Sept. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BillingTree®, a leading payment solutions provider to the healthcare, ARM and financial services industries today announced the results of its inaugural Healthcare Operations and Technology Survey. The findings divulge key concerns of U.S. Healthcare companies ranging from single to multi-location providers. Respondents identified their primary challenge as difficulty collecting payment after a patient leaves the facility followed closely by the patient's inability to pay and concerns about compliance. Complimentary downloads of the survey findings are available at https://start.mybillingtree.com/acton/media/15831/healthcare-survey

The survey also found slow adoption of web and automated phone based payment technologies. Instead, providers are still opting for more traditional payment collection methods including; on-site and mail, as well as agent assisted phone payments ranked most popular, with 93% and 87% of respondents using these methods. Web portals ranked a distant third with only 67% of organizations accepting payments via website.

When asked about planned tactics to encourage patient payments, surprisingly non-technology solutions including "offering payment plans" and "utilizing third party collection agencies" tied as the most common responses at 27%. Adoption of "payment portals" tied with "increasing staffing levels" at 20% of the healthcare organizations planning to implement these options over the next 12 months. Adding "Interactive Voice Response (IVR)" scored very low at only 13%, indicating the industry has yet to embrace this proven approach to reducing reliance on FTEs for accepting payment.

"Healthcare providers are clearly facing a significant revenue shift (from insurance payers to the patient).  By adopting payment technology, including patient payment portals and IVRs, they can quickly strike a balance between the payment preferences of patients and their staffing resources," says Dave Yohe, VP of Marketing at BillingTree.

"The healthcare industry, which leans toward staffing and third-parties to tackle payment capacity issues, is beginning to follow their peers in other service industries. This includes embracing a technology approach to help ensure compliance, enhance customer service and improve their revenue cycle management," he continued.

To request a complimentary copy of the 2016 Healthcare Operations and Technology Survey visit https://start.mybillingtree.com/acton/media/15831/healthcare-survey

BillingTree will be hosting a webinar discussing the advantages of payment portals in healthcare on October 26 at 1 PM Eastern. To register visit:
https://start.mybillingtree.com/acton/media/15831/healthcare-portal-webinar

About BillingTree
BillingTree® is the leading, technology focused payment solutions company providing innovative Accounts Receivables products and services that enable organizations to increase efficiency and decrease costs of processing payments while adhering to compliance regulations. For over a decade, BillingTree has committed itself to understanding the marketplace and growing payments with technology, helping merchants accept multiple payment channels while offering comprehensive value their clients have come to rely on. BillingTree has a reputation for dependable solutions and extraordinary customer service, processing billions of dollars of payments annually through a suite of solutions and services that integrate with your company's needs. Visit MyBillingTree.com or call 877.4.BILLTREE for payment technology that works.

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SOURCE BillingTree

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