Unlocking the Advantages of Integrated Payments
The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented surge in digital payments as well as rising expectations by patients and medical practices alike for increased medical payment flexibility.
With safety and convenience as top priorities, patients are moving toward telehealth services and away from in-person payments and pay-by-mail. Instead, they’re seeking simpler, contact-free ways to pay their bills enabled through online and mobile platforms.
In fact, the 2020 Trends in Healthcare Payments report from InstaMed uncovered some intriguing statistics:
• 85%of consumers prefer electronic payments for their medical bills
• 54% are interested in mobile payments for medical bills
• 78% want contact-free payment options to permanently remain available post-pandemic
• 56%would consider switching providers for a better healthcare payments experience
Integrated Payments Maximize Opportunity
Integrating a payments platform into a medical practice’s business management software makes back-office processes more efficient by eliminating siloed technologies and minimizing the need for dual entry of accounting data. Further, the practice and its patients both benefit by having greater flexibility over when and how patients pay their bills.
Through the integrated payments platform, medical practices can accept a wide variety of payment methods – including credit and debit cards, flexible spending accounts (FSA), health savings accounts (HSA), and automated clearing house (ACH) bank account transfers – through a variety of channels including online, via virtual terminal, or via e-invoice. Patients may also make one-time payments, create card-on-file recurring payments, or set up installment plans which promotes both flexibility for the patient and revenue assurance for the practice.
Patients benefit from a better overall experience:
• Online payments are seamless, simple, safe, convenient, and efficient
• Payments their way—customize the method, recurrence, and time
Medical practices substantially benefit from integrated payment processing
• Get paid faster, reduce accounts receivables days outstanding
• Enhance payment security with EMV, tokens, and end-to-end encryption
• Reduce compliance scope with PA-DSS and HIPPA certified solutions
• Eliminate paper statements and manual processes
• Gain more financial visibility and control
• Streamline operations and increase productivity
• Increase patient trust, loyalty, and satisfaction
Integrated Payments Are the Future
The pandemic has only accelerated the trend of patient preference for online, contact-free, and mobile telehealth services, and the ability to make frictionless online payment is inherently tied to the digital experience.
As 85% of patients are open to paying their bills online, demand for more convenient payment options shows no signs of slowing. In order to keep their patients happy, healthcare providers will need to provide a patient experience that has is built around flexibility and convenience.
With truly integrated payment processing, healthcare providers can reap the benefits of quicker, more efficient, more cost-effective payments, while patients are sure to love their seamless, convenient payment experience.
Paya offers an integrated payments solution that is designed to help healthcare software providers exceed their customers’ expectations and to future-proof their payments capabilities.
To learn more, visit offers.paya.com/healthcare