Increasing patient engagement is a top priority for most modern medical practices, especially in the increasingly value-based landscape of medical billing. Even for organizations that have yet to embrace the shift to quality over quantity, patient engagement is far more valuable financially than most practices realize.
Why Is Patient Engagement Important in Your Medical Practice? Given the increasing penetration of consumer-driven technology in healthcare – for example, mobile devices – providers recognize that connecting with existing patients via digital technologies can improve overall satisfaction.
According to a study on patients and technology, there is more agreement than ever before on engagement:
- According to 76% of patients, technology has the potential to improve their health.
- Patient engagement is beneficial to 84 percent of physicians.
- Patients who are technologically engaged have 15% fewer hospital readmissions than their peers.
- Those same engaged patients had a 17 percent lower rate of medical errors.
Despite these trends, concerns about fee-for-service reimbursement continue to dominate providers’ decisions about whether or not to invest in engagement-focused technologies. According to the same study, 75 percent of physicians believe that a lack of reimbursement is a barrier to using secure messaging, and 42 percent believe that there is “insufficient payment for patient engagement” in general.
They are correct from the standpoint of medical billing. Aside from EHR incentives, ACO participation, and potential MIPS and MACRA payouts, providers receive a little direct monetary reward for investing in engagement-driving technologies. However, ROI is more than just rewards, and the true reality of financial incentives is a little more nuanced.
Recognizing the link Between Patient Engagement and Insurance Reimbursement:
Providers and medical practice managers may not expect a return on their financial investment in digital engagement, but it is a significant source of long-term ROI for more than just patient outcomes. According to the aforementioned study, 76 percent of healthcare leaders polled saw a positive ROI from personalization technologies like text messaging, email, mobile apps, and other digital engagement efforts.
The consequences are twofold. In a nutshell, digital-first thinking is beneficial to practices in terms of marketing. They can bring up to 20% more patients to their practices by using online scheduling and improving their online presence. Personalized appointment reminders significantly reduce no-shows, increasing per-physician revenue. High-touch engagement also makes it easier to follow up with patients on treatment adherence and future appointments.
Then there’s the more intangible impact that engagement can have on reimbursement, which stems from fostering a stronger relationship between a medical establishment and its patient base.
Consider the following: Nine out of ten patients want to share decision-making with their provider, and two-thirds would switch providers for online access to medical records. Which of these groups do you believe is more likely to receive timely, in-full payments from loyal patients: practice with a digital engagement strategy or one that has refused to make the necessary technology investments? By handling the billing and coding process with a reputable medical billing company, your practice can concentrate its efforts on providing your patients with the most seamless healthcare experience possible. WWS has been assisting practices in the implementation of technology solutions to improve revenue cycle management.
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