Report: Patient billing experience affects relationship with provider

Many patients are paying attention to the billing procedures of their health care providers, and some of them aren’t happy.

The 2023 Patient Payment Technology Report, recently released by Salucro Healthcare Solutions, reveals that 78% of patients say the billing process is somewhat or very important when selecting a provider. And more than half (53%) have had a negative financial experience that compelled them to leave a bad review of their provider.

“We’re seeing a shift in the way patients view their financial experiences with their providers, as they are increasingly benchmarking their health care financial experience against interactions and standards set by other consumer-focused sectors,” Clayton Bain, Salucro’s founder and CEO, said in a statement. “This means that the entire patient journey — from pre-service outreach to clinical care, following through to the final billing statement — needs to meet or even exceed these evolving standards.”

The report, sponsored by American Express, provides health care leaders and their revenue cycle teams a panoramic view of patient billing and payment preferences. The results are based on a survey of over 1,500 U.S. health care consumers and includes insights on consumer confidence and patient loyalty, patient financial preferences, and trust in technology and security.

Other key findings of the report:

• 72% of patients report trusting their health care provider or partnered technology firms to handle their medical payment data.
• 66% of patients say they prefer email or text message notifications about new billing and payment reminders.
• The preference for contactless payments has doubled within two years, with as many as 33% of patients preferring to use digital wallets, PayPal or Venmo.

That said, 32% of patients still prefer to receive their health care statements in the mail, and 27% still pay by check — proving a “digital-only” process is not the answer.

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“The report shows that the billing process continues to play a critical role when patients are evaluating new providers and that offering access to a variety of payment options … is a key to patient satisfaction,” said Christopher Lolli, vice president and general manager of sales and marketing at American Express. “With this in mind, it’s important for providers to meet their patients’ needs and expectations in the billing process and offer a patient financial experience that maps to their growing and unique preferences.”