New Online Billing/Payment System Pays Off for Patients and Staff at a Pennsylvania Health System
// By Lisa Ellis //
It’s common today for people to buy their food and clothing online, and to arrange their travel reservations through web-based services. Now many health systems also allow patients to view and pay their health care bills online. But this process can be complicated if it isn’t managed well, and can end up leaving patients frustrated.
The Need for a New Approach
As a growing number of health care systems look for new and improved ways to provide patient-centered care, one of the factors to consider is how to put technology to work to streamline the financial/billing component, enabling people to see what they owe and arrange payment, right from their computer, tablet, or mobile device. In addition to increasing patient satisfaction with this offering, health care systems can also save valuable staff time if the bills are paid seamlessly without any need for an employee to intervene.
This premise prompted Lancaster General Health (LG Health) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to adopt a new approach to the patient revenue cycle with the Simplee Financial Care software platform, which benefits patients and also pays off for the organization.
LG Health is a not-for-profit health system that’s affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Health System and operates three hospitals licensed for 631 beds. The system also runs more than 40 outpatient offices. This translates into a lot of manpower spent on generating bills, accepting payments, and responding to patients’ questions.