The Link Between Patient Education & Your Healthcare Revenue Cycle: 3 Tips For Your Practice
Your patients and your healthcare revenue cycle are more connected than you might think. Attracting new patients and providing great holistic care are two essential components of your revenue, but what else can you do to ensure your revenue cycle continues moving smoothly? How can you deepen the relationship between your holistic practice and your community in a manner that is sincere and still profitable?
Developing patient education resources for your patients and initiating conversations can have a significant impact. You might already be taking these steps in the natural flow of your practice’s operations, but making them an intentional part of your patient interactions can lead to a better patient experience and revenue cycle.
Keep reading to learn more about the different types of patient education resources, the link between patient engagement and your holistic practice’s revenue cycle, and some tips for fostering this engagement in your practice!
Different Types of Patient Education Resources
Patient education resources come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be wholly custom to fit your specialty and your patients. Depending on what services you offer and what type of clients you have, your patient education materials can include one-on-one teaching, analogies, or any of the following tools:
- Brochures and other printed materials
- Podcasts
- YouTube videos
- Posters or charts
- Models or props
- And more!
The goal of patient education resources is to supplement the patient experience with opportunities to further learn and engage with their care. For example, a dermatology practice might have brochures explaining different skin conditions, perhaps one each for eczema or psoriasis, whereas an acupuncture practice might have posters that visually explain how the treatment works. It’s important to utilize the most appropriate medium of communication so your patient has the greatest chance of learning from your efforts.
The Link Between Patient Education, Patient Outcomes, and Your Healthcare Revenue Cycle
As the saying goes, knowledge is power. Patient education further builds rapport between your patient and your holistic practice, which leads to trust and a continued relationship. Increasing the patient lifetime value by attracting and retaining clients, naturally, helps your holistic practice’s overall healthcare revenue cycle. Plus, a client who is delighted by your services will spread the word about your practice and could lead to new patient relationships.
Patient education also leads to better patient outcomes as they learn more about their treatment and wellness plan. In fact, just 45 minutes of patient education can improve outcomes for patients with chronic diseases, according to a study in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. As patients gain a greater understanding of their conditions, the treatment that your holistic practice offers, and how to manage chronic conditions on their own, they become empowered and engaged in the process.
Delivering great care and equipping your patients with the tools they need to effectively engage with their healthcare journey demonstrates your practice’s dedication to their success—which leads to a better healthcare revenue cycle. Furthermore, providing resources relating to patient-payer relationships and how healthcare billing works can better inform your patients of their role within the revenue cycle.
3 Tips to Boost Your Revenue Cycle With Patient Education
Ready to further your patient education resources while boosting your revenue cycle? Check out these tips for each part of the patient’s journey with your holistic practice:
Initiate Clear Conversations About Payment Responsibility Prior to the Appointment
Your holistic practice’s reception desk plays an important role in the patient-practice relationship. This is where first and lasting impressions are formed, educating patients about their role in the healthcare revenue cycle takes place, and where patients should feel encouraged to ask questions.
The front desk is perfect for providing patients with information regarding co-pays, any insurance policies that are or aren’t accepted by your holistic practice, disseminating no-show policy papers, and more. It’s a great opportunity to welcome the patient into the practice and initiate clear conversations about payment responsibility.
Plus, if a returning patient has a balance remaining from a previous visit, this is a good time to gently but firmly bring it up and ask the patient for payment. Not verifying that the patient is in good standing—or not feeling confident in bringing it up—leads to a sluggish healthcare revenue cycle since you’re leaving money on the table.
Provide Patient Education Resources During the Visit
Your patients come to your practice for quality care and trust you and your staff to deliver on that. Along the way, it’s important to gauge how involved they are with what treatment plans you and other pertinent healthcare providers have coordinated for the patient.
Facilitating a conversation about why they’re at your practice, how your holistic services are contributing to a better quality of life, and encouraging them to ask questions along the way demonstrates a commitment to care. Plus, presenting a tangible education resource like a pamphlet or literature related to their wellness journey empowers them to do research on their own and ask questions as needed.
Your holistic practice’s revenue cycle benefits from returning patients who tell their loved ones about your practice and who value the time spent with your practice, making them less likely to be chronically absent from their appointments.
After the Appointment, Help Patients Navigate Their Bills and Gather Their Feedback Via Surveys
If your patient’s initial encounter with your practice’s reception desk entailed learning about their payment responsibilities, then the same reception desk after the appointment shouldn’t lead to any sticker shock. Staying proactive in conversations with your patients about their role in the healthcare revenue cycle boosts transparency in your practice and fosters trust between your patients and your practice.
Following the appointment, collect patient payment and their feedback via patient satisfaction surveys. Directly collecting payment, of course, benefits your revenue cycle by bringing in revenue to your practice. Gathering patient feedback is one more touchpoint for building rapport and reflects your practice’s commitment to providing an overall positive experience. With this information, you can make changes as needed to improve the patient experience!
Partner with Holistic Billing Services to Boost Your Healthcare Revenue Cycle!
Wish you had more time to engage your patients in conversation and develop patient education resources that suit them? Feel like you’re always swamped in medical coding and billing issues, rejected claims, and new legislative initiatives that impact healthcare billing?
Partner with Holistic Billing Services to streamline your healthcare revenue cycle and enjoy an immediate return on your investment with minimal inaccuracies, timely billing efforts, and a team of experts that’s always on top of new regulations. Our experts have experience in your specialty and we’re eager to help your practice focus on what matters most: your patients.
Contact us today!
