Discover electronic billing strategies to help your healthcare practice improve patient communication and maximize successful payments.
With a growing shift toward electronic billing, patients have come to expect convenient digital communication from their medical providers. While the vast majority of patients prefer digital channels such as email, text messaging, and secure patient portals, some healthcare practices still only offer mailed statements. Without patient contact information, practices are unable to send emails and texts.
Successful digital billing starts with collecting accurate patient email addresses and mobile numbers. When contact information is missing or outdated, healthcare practices experience higher mailing costs, slower payments, and more manual follow-up.
Improving patient contact collection is a simple yet impactful way to reduce billing expenses, accelerate payments, and enhance the patient's financial experience. Implementing the following electronic billing best practices can increase the adoption of digital billing and maximize payment success.
1. Make Contact Collection Part of Every Patient Check-In
One of the most effective ways to improve electronic billing adoption is to ensure patient contact information is verified for everyone who visits the office, even long-time patients. The administrative staff should never assume the information they have on file is correct. Instead, they should ask every patient, “Is your email and phone number still the best way to reach you?”
Confirming changes in an email address or phone number and documenting the patient's preferred method of receiving communication is a great way to ensure contact information is accurate. Adopting this practice can help to prevent critical delays in test results, reduce missed appointments, and ensure seamless care coordination.
Missed appointments can result in more than $50,000 in lost annual revenue for a healthcare practice. This can disrupt patient care and waste valuable staff time. Healthcare organizations that consistently maintain accurate patient contact information can improve continuity of care, eliminate billing inefficiencies, and reduce no-shows by up to 38% through automated text and email reminders.
According to data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), missing or inaccurate information is a persistent problem. Approximately 7% of patients request corrections via an online patient portal. This reinforces the need for routine verification of patient information at registration. Without updated patient contact information, healthcare organizations may miss opportunities to request payment before or after the patient visit.
2. Explain the Patient Benefit
In recent years, consumers have become increasingly hesitant to share personal data with healthcare providers because of concerns about identity theft, unsolicited marketing, and data breaches. According to a recent survey, only 44% of patients trust private practices to secure their private information.
Importance of Personal Data in Electronic Billing
When patients understand why they need to share information, they are typically more willing to comply. Patients should understand that sharing personal data provides the following benefits:
- Never miss an appointment. The healthcare practice will send them appointment reminders ahead of the scheduled visit to reduce unintended cancellations.
- Know what to expect before your visit. Pre-visit billing tools like PreBill allow patients to receive a secure text or email before their appointment with information about their expected financial responsibility. This added price transparency gives patients time to review their balance, prepare for the cost, and explore payment options before the visit.
- Receive bills instantly. Patients will receive a text and/or email with a secure link to the patient payment portal. They will have 24/7 access to billing information, making it quick and easy to review balances and make on-time payments at their convenience.
- Avoid missed payments. Keep balances top of mind with up to three automated text and email payment reminders each month, encouraging on-time payments without additional staff effort.
- Pay securely, anytime, anywhere. Provide patients with the ability to make a secure online payment from their computer, tablet, or smartphone in just a few clicks.
A study conducted by the American Medical Association (AMA) revealed that three out of five patients expressed concern with their personal health data being used against them. Instead of merely asking for personal data, office staff must clearly explain how this information will improve the electronic billing experience by making it easier, faster, and more convenient. Understanding the reasons behind these improvements may encourage patients to choose digital communications.
3. Train Front Desk Staff
The front desk team at healthcare practices is essential to the success of a strong and reliable electronic billing strategy. They are often patients' primary point of contact and positioned to collect and verify email addresses and mobile phone numbers.
Training staff to confidently explain the benefits of digital billing, instead of just asking for personal data, can significantly increase the number of patients willing to opt in. Using friendly, consistent messaging ensures every patient receives the same experience.
Example Script: “We can text or email you a secure link so you can access your bill immediately, receive convenient payment reminders, and pay online whenever it is most convenient for you. Is this still the best mobile number and email address to use?”
This approach helps patients understand the value of digital billing. It also makes it easier for healthcare practices to maintain accurate records and improve payment performance. In a healthcare practice, the front office staff plays a key role in increasing the adoption of electronic billing. They must make contact verification part of their standard registration procedure for all patient interactions. Periodically tracking adoption rates and coaching staff can reinforce best practices and identify opportunities for improvement.
Capturing accurate personal information from the start and maintaining an efficient registration process helps to strengthen the entire revenue cycle.
4. Offer Multiple Ways to Update Patient Contact Information
Maintaining current patient contact information should not rely solely on a single touchpoint. Since patients interact with practices in many ways, every interaction should be considered an opportunity to verify or update a mobile phone number or email address. When the process is quick and easy, patients will be more likely to provide updated information.
Healthcare practices should get in the habit of making contact updates on an ongoing basis, rather than a one-time event. Creating consistent steps for collecting personal data helps to eliminate missed appointments, late payments, denied claims, and a host of other patient-related issues.
To create multiple opportunities throughout the patient's financial journey, every department must follow the same procedures for collecting, updating, and verifying personal contact information. The following methods enable patients to have a convenient way to provide changes in their personal information without slowing down the check-in process:
- In-person office visits during check-in or check-out
- Online patient portals
- Patient registration forms (digital or paper)
- Phone calls when confirming or scheduling appointments
- Self-service registration kiosks
- Tablets or electronic check-in devices
The online patient portal is an invaluable resource for collecting contact information. Patients can easily update their personal data and opt in to text, emails, and mailed statements. Providers can add a pop-up window to the portal for specific patients with outdated email addresses or mobile phone numbers, asking them about their preferred type of communication.
In a recent survey, 77% of respondents said it has become standard practice to allow patients to choose their preferred communication method, including text messages, email, secure patient portals, and mobile apps. Offering multiple methods for collecting personal data ensures more accurate records, supports stronger revenue cycle management, and facilitates accessible and continuous patient engagement.
5. Verify Contact Information During Scheduling
When office staff speaks with patients to schedule appointments, they should collect or confirm personal contact information as standard practice. Rather than waiting until the patient arrives for their scheduled visit, the practice can begin building a successful electronic billing experience by verifying mobile phone numbers and email addresses at the time of scheduling.
Getting an early start ensures patients receive appointment reminders, confirmations, and billing communications without interruption, creating a smoother patient journey. The importance of confirming, and not just collecting, data every time an appointment is made cannot be overstated. It should occur during every patient interaction, including online, by phone, and when modifying existing scheduled visits.
Making contact verification a standard procedure in every scheduling workflow for both new and returning patients can improve accuracy and provide an opportunity to review and update personal information as needed.
6. Keep Your Patient Contact Database Clean
An electronic billing strategy is only as effective as the accuracy of the patient contact information. Outdated or inaccurate records can prevent patients from receiving payment reminders, bills, and other sensitive communications. Regular database maintenance ensures a practice's digital billing efforts reach the right patients promptly.
Maintaining accurate patient contact information is essential for successful electronic billing strategies. Establishing a routine process for cleaning and reviewing patient records and assigning responsibility for ongoing database maintenance ensures consistency. Not using failed deliveries and returned communications is a missed opportunity for updating patient information.
Healthcare practices should regularly review for:
- Duplicate patient records
- Outdated or disconnected mobile phone numbers
- Returned mailed statements
- Undeliverable or invalid email addresses
Missing or outdated personal contact information can drastically limit digital communication options and hinder billing performance.
7. Continue Offering Paper Statements
Not every patient prefers digital communication, making mailed paper statements still relevant in modern healthcare practices. According to a Pew Research study, one in four seniors do not use online billing portals or email reminders. They also prefer traditional paper statements over new technologies.
A hybrid approach ensures every patient receives bills in the format that makes them most comfortable. For instance, modern mailed statements can include a scannable QR code to encourage online payments.
Why Paper Bills Still Matter
Modern paper billing can be effective and convenient for all patient demographics. It provides an easy transition from professionally printed paper statements to digital payment options. Healthcare practices do not have to choose between paper and electronic billing to create a one-size-fits-all approach. Sending text and email messages along with mailed statements improves the patient response rate and accelerates payments.
According to industry data, sending both eBills and mailed paper statements can reduce the average payment rate from 20 days to 9 days. Additionally, mailed statements with QR codes enable patients to pay online quickly by scanning the code with their phones.
8. Make Digital Payments Effortless
Once a bill is approved, patients receive a text and/or email with a secure link to the patient portal, where they can view and pay their bill in just a few clicks. Healthcare practices need to provide convenient access to a mobile-friendly payment page and secure payment portal while offering multiple payment methods, flexible payment plans, and automated payment options. The easier payment becomes, the faster practices get paid.
BillFlash is designed to support a reliable electronic billing system by streamlining medical practice revenue cycles through eBills via text and email, automated payment reminders, flexible financing, and multiple payment options. Patients can conveniently pay in-office, online, by mail, or over the phone, with every payment automatically syncing back into BillFlash for a seamless billing and payment workflow.
How eBills Help Practices Get Paid Faster
Once approved, eBills can be delivered immediately via text and/or email. The electronic billing method is mobile-friendly and features secure payment links that support faster payments, lower mailing costs, and an improved patient experience.
Electronic billing removes friction from the payment process, helping to accelerate cash flow, maximize convenience, and reduce errors. eBills can be sent through text or email, directing patients to our patient payment portal (PayWoot.com) where they can conveniently view and pay their bills online at any time.
Patients and practices alike enjoy the benefits of eBills via text and email. The costs and hassles of manual in-office payment collection are eliminated, helping to alleviate administrative burden. Patients appreciate the online access to billing statements, which encourages faster payments and optimizes revenue workflows.
The Importance of Reminding Patients About Outstanding Balances
PayReminders enables healthcare practices to send patients up to three electronic reminders each month via text and/or email to encourage faster payments. Pre-collection billing is a cost-effective, efficient way to manage receivables before they become past-due. Once payment is received, the patient is automatically removed from the workflow.
Offering a wide variety of secure payment options helps encourage faster payments. However, when patients are unable to make timely payments, it is crucial to offer flexible financing options. According to a study by the Federal Reserve Board, the average American cannot afford a $400 unexpected bill. This results in a delay of care, forcing some patients to default on their financial obligation altogether. FlexPay is an optimal financing solution that benefits both the patient and provider. Patients are offered the flexibility to pay their balance in monthly installments, and providers get full payment right away.
Build a Connected Electronic Billing Strategy
Combining multiple electronic communication channels creates better financial outcomes by implementing the following strategies:
- Collecting accurate patient contact information
- Collecting patient fees upfront with ease before the visit
- Delivering eBills through email and text
- Mailing professional paper statements with QR codes
- Offering secure online payment options
- Providing flexible payment plans when needed
- Sending automated payment reminders
These methods result in faster collections, lower billing costs, reduced administrative burden, and a better patient experience.
Ready to Modernize Your Patient Billing Process?
Collecting accurate patient email addresses and mobile phone numbers is a simple and effective way to improve billing performance. By combining proactive contact collection with automated reminders, electronic billing, and modern payment options, healthcare practices can significantly reduce costs and accelerate collections, providing the convenient financial experience that patients have come to expect. Capturing accurate contact information is only the first step. To fully realize the benefits of digital patient communication, practices also need the right technology to deliver bills, automate follow-up, and make it easy for patients to pay.
Schedule a personalized BillFlash demo today to see how modern billing and payment technology can help your practice get paid faster, reduce administrative costs, and improve the patient's financial journey.