Table of Contents:
Introduction
1. Digitalizing Consumer-centric Payment Methods
2. Understanding Digital Front Door
2.1. The Purpose of the Digital Front Door in Payments
2.2. Employee Experience Matters
3. The Future of Healthcare Payments
Conclusion
Introduction
The healthcare industry is undergoing a major transformation.
To cope with the current digital dynamics, the industry is leveraging new technologies and innovative business models to solve one of the most fundamental challenges—“providing better healthcare facilities at a lower cost for more patients.”
This new payment technology approach will remove the quintessential function of the back-office payment process and embrace a new technologically strategic lever that will simplify the healthcare ecosystem, from patient care to complete B2B relationships. So, whether a patient is trying to pay a medical bill or a pharmaceutical company is paying a regulatory body, the new payment technology will make digital pay-in and pay-out systems faster, simpler, and more transparent.
In today’s Fintec Buzz article, you will find insights on how healthcare businesses can leverage payment to deliver better care facilities while scaling up the payment process.
1. Digitalizing Consumer-centric Payment Methods
Digitalization is continuously transforming numerous industries. These digital experiences have majorly impacted consumer expectations, as they now desire a smooth, seamless, and convenient payment experience such as subscription, split payments, or pay-as-you-use.
However, the healthcare industry has been slower in implementing these consumer-centric payment methods. As per a report by PYMNTS, more than 70% of consumers are open to using a unified digital platform to manage their healthcare needs; therefore, this is a huge opportunity for healthcare companies to embrace the digital revolution.
2. Understanding Digital Front Door
Even though the digital front door (DFD) is a relatively new development in the healthcare industry. This strategy aids in creating consumer-grade experiences through an app or online platform where patients can access and manage their healthcare requirements, such as reserving doctor’s appointments, making payments, arranging follow-ups, requesting additional supplies, managing pharmacy prescriptions, and booking transportation to a health facility.
2.1. The Purpose of the Digital Front Door in Payments
One of the most essential aspects of the digital front door is enhancing healthcare’s financial side, which is more transparent and easier to manage. In many countries, including the US, the healthcare payment system depends on paper-based structures, where healthcare and financial providers and patients have to deal with physical bills. For instance, healthcare pay-outs are frequently done by check, which incurs the risk that checks can get misplaced, arrive late, or go to the wrong address. This process often results in a lack of clarity around a patient’s financial responsibility and leads to unexpected expenses.
A recent survey from McKinsey showed that 60% of patients wanted more information when choosing where to get care. Therefore, to achieve transparency, healthcare companies should make key consideration factors widely available, which also include cost estimates and patient reviews of facilities and services.
2.2. Employee Experience Matters
Healthcare industry leaders believe improving patient experience is insufficient; institutes must focus on enhancing employee experience. With the rising cost and tight budget, employee morale suffers, and organizations have to deal with frequent complaints, including burnout and insufficient pay, eventually affecting the shortage of medical staff. As per McKinsey, more than 29% of resident nurses said they were unhappy with the employee’s experience and likely to leave their current role in patient care.
Although payment cannot solve the systemic issues, it might improve the payment system and practices that will benefit employees. For instance, let’s take an example of earned wage access (EWA) solutions. This payment technology allows health workers to draw down portions of their salary before payday, easing any financial burden.
Therefore, by digitizing the payments at an early stage, patients can access self-service options, and for healthcare employees, this payment solution will aid them in focusing on higher-value activity and delivering better care.
3. The Future of Healthcare Payments
As payment technology evolves, it will continue to help the healthcare sector and create associations across diverse networks and facilities to communicate more efficiently.
Interoperability will take time within the industry, but blockchain technology can become a key component of interoperability in the future. This technology will not only store highly secured data but will also focus on transparency and HIPAA compliance that will enable instantaneous payments and settlements.
Further integrating smart contracts as a software algorithm will encode a new set of rules and thresholds for transactions on the blockchain and automate the payment process. Lastly, payable solutions such as Stax, Chase Payment Solutions, and Payment Cloud will help healthcare businesses simplify payables processes and optimize cash flow visibility.
Therefore, combining security, automation, and personalization is key to enhancing payments within the healthcare industry.
Conclusion
In the end, by streamlining the payment process and removing the common bottleneck points, any business across the healthcare chain can focus on what matters most and deliver better care. So, whether healthcare businesses are providing direct care and support to enhance customer online payment processes, creating new and innovative treatments, or responding to changing business payment models, the future of healthcare stands tall in an ecosystem that delivers superior care experiences.
Innovative and digitized payment will aid in achieving these plans across inclusion, digital care, and broader relations between consumer-facing and B2B businesses; this will help growth and patient and employee experience.
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