Enhancing Efficiency and Patient Satisfaction
The Urology Group began using HST's patient estimates amidst the challenges presented by the global pandemic.
By using HST’s patient estimates, they have seen a:
- 66% increase in upfront patient payment
- 50% decrease in accounts sent to collections
- 33% decrease in full-time staff
# of Centers: 5+
# of ORs: 5+
Featured Solutions: Patient Estimates
Solutions in Use: Patient Estimates
State(s): Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky
Customer type: Surgery Centers, Physician Practices
Specialties: Urology
The Challenge
The Urology Group, a leading healthcare provider, handles an average monthly case volume of 800-1000 cases. They began using HST’s patient estimates in June of 2020, amidst the challenges presented by the global pandemic.
Before implementing HST’s patient estimates, The Urology Group faced several operational hurdles:
- Manual Eligibility Verification: The team was spending significant time manually verifying patient eligibility and benefits using insurance websites.
- Limited Collection Capacity: Due to bandwidth issues, they were unable to collect on every case. This resulted in patients calling in post-surgery upset about their bills, impacting patient satisfaction negatively.
- Complex Benefit Calculations: Prior to Clariti, the team had to manually calculate the benefits of primary and secondary insurances, adding another layer of complexity to their operations.
The Urology Group was unable to collect upfront payments on 90% of their cases, significantly impacting their cash flow and financial stability. Moreover, they had to send 1.1 million annually to collections due to these challenges.
The Solution
Implementing HST’s patient estimates brought a transformative change to The Urology Group’s operations:
- Upfront Collections: With HST’s patient estimates, they started collecting payments upfront, which significantly improved their cash flow.
- Efficient Contract Management: HST took over the responsibility of uploading and maintaining contracts, making the process hands-off for the group.
- Simplified Daily Operations: Their day-to-day activities became less complicated and less time-consuming. The team could quickly pull orders, put names on a spreadsheet, run benefits and eligibility checks through HST’s patient estimates, and get results back in seconds. They could then send text or email estimates to patients within seconds, enhancing the speed of their services.
- Increased Patient Satisfaction: Knowing upfront what to expect and what their out-of-pocket expenses would be, patients’ satisfaction levels increased.
- Reduced Staff Requirement: The efficiency brought by HST’s patient estimates enabled them to decrease full-time employees from 6 to 4 without compromising service quality.
As a result of implementing HST’s patient estimates, the amount sent to collections annually has dropped to roughly $550k, a reduction of over 50%.
It was very time consuming before. We weren’t able to do the volume of cases that we can now. We weren’t collecting on every single case because we didn’t have enough manpower to work every case every day. Just being able to collect as much as you can upfront really does help on the backend as far as number of bills you’re sending out, and patients were dissatisfied because they had no idea how much it was going to cost them.
Glynda Wilson,
Business Manager
The Results
Embracing the innovative technology of HST’s patient estimates, The Urology Group has experienced a significant enhancement in their operational efficiency, financial management, and overall patient satisfaction. The streamlined automation presented by HST’s patient estimates has not only conserved valuable time but also amplified their collection capabilities, leading to a notable increase in patient satisfaction.
The journey of The Urology Group with HST’s patient estimates serves as a powerful illustration of the transformative capacity of technology within healthcare. It underscores the potential for technology to refine processes, amplify efficiency, and ultimately foster superior patient care.
A testament to this transformation is the remarkable increase in upfront patient collections, which have risen from $2.5 million to an impressive $3.5 million annually. This tangible impact underscores the value that HST’s patient estimates brings to healthcare providers, showcasing the undeniable benefits of embracing technology in the pursuit of improved patient care and operational efficiency.
Our upfront collections increased significantly. On average, we are able to collect annually an additional million dollars upfront, which drives down the number of accounts we are sending to collection. Annually we were sending roughly $1.1 million to collections. After using HST Clariti, that has gone down to 550k.
Ruth Ortiz
Benefits Specialist Coordinator
The Future
The Urology Group’s experience serves as a compelling testament to the transformative potential of HST’s patient estimates. By adopting this technology, they have seen a considerable improvement in their operations, financial management, and patient satisfaction. The hassle-free, automated process has not only saved time but also increased collections and customer satisfaction.
This success story signals a promising future for healthcare providers willing to innovate and adapt, ushering in a new era of efficient and patient-centric care. The Urology Group plans to expand the use of HST’s patient estimates to other operations within their facility.