Few things in life are more horrifying than getting hit with a medical bill that was vastly larger than you initially expected. Yet every day, countless people in this country are getting hit with exorbitant medical bills, and it’s more than likely your patients are among the victims.
Are there any steps you can take to help patients avoid surprise medical bills? Absolutely.
It’s Time to Have “The Talk”
A Duke University professor and his colleagues found that patients and doctors are talking about money frequently during office visits. The study, published in the journal Medical Decision Making discovered that in about one-third of office visits the topic of health care costs came up, with half of these discussions focusing on how patients can save money.
No doctor is taught in medical school to bring up the subject of money with their patients, but, being naturally caring people, when doctors see patients suffering, they want to help. As a doctor you can not only welcome a dialogue with your patient about healthcare costs but start the conversation. You can discuss things like how to prevent illnesses in the first place, minimize complications and how to avoid unnecessary care. Even if you don’t know exactly what something costs, having a short conversation will often uncover ways the patient can save money. For instance, you may find that by changing the timing, source or location of healthcare, money can be saved. Will prescribing a 90-day supply of a medication rather than a 30-day supply reduce total co-pays over the year. What if you schedule more expensive tests at the end of the year when your patients will have most likely already met their deductible? The bottom line is, it doesn’t take much time to have a talk with your patients and come up with concrete and viable strategies that will reduce out-of-pocket costs for your patients. Work Within Your Patient’s Network Oftentimes primary care physicians will send their patients to other specialists for further testing or follow-up. But sometimes they may not take into consideration whether their specialist of choice is within the patient’s network. This is one of the biggest unexpected medical expenses patients get hit with. They assume any referral from their PCP is going to also be in their network, but when that referral doesn’t participate with their insurer, guess …show more content…
Tell them to get specific codes, if they can, that will help you bill them correctly.
Use a Quality EHR
A recent Health Data Management article highlighted ways doctors are using their EHRs to save their patients money, particularly when it comes to cost of medications. As you may know, EHRs can be set to suggest the generic version of a medication. Often when physicians see this suggestion, they in fact prescribe a generic prescription to their patients, saving them significant money.
A study conducted by the Perelman School of Medicine, the Wharton School, and the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, suggests that default settings presented to physicians could change their behavior. And the change in behavior would save their patients money.
This is just one of the ways a quality EHR can save your patients and your practice money every
Are there any steps you can take to help patients avoid surprise medical bills? Absolutely.
It’s Time to Have “The Talk”
A Duke University professor and his colleagues found that patients and doctors are talking about money frequently during office visits. The study, published in the journal Medical Decision Making discovered that in about one-third of office visits the topic of health care costs came up, with half of these discussions focusing on how patients can save money.
No doctor is taught in medical school to bring up the subject of money with their patients, but, being naturally caring people, when doctors see patients suffering, they want to help. As a doctor you can not only welcome a dialogue with your patient about healthcare costs but start the conversation. You can discuss things like how to prevent illnesses in the first place, minimize complications and how to avoid unnecessary care. Even if you don’t know exactly what something costs, having a short conversation will often uncover ways the patient can save money. For instance, you may find that by changing the timing, source or location of healthcare, money can be saved. Will prescribing a 90-day supply of a medication rather than a 30-day supply reduce total co-pays over the year. What if you schedule more expensive tests at the end of the year when your patients will have most likely already met their deductible? The bottom line is, it doesn’t take much time to have a talk with your patients and come up with concrete and viable strategies that will reduce out-of-pocket costs for your patients. Work Within Your Patient’s Network Oftentimes primary care physicians will send their patients to other specialists for further testing or follow-up. But sometimes they may not take into consideration whether their specialist of choice is within the patient’s network. This is one of the biggest unexpected medical expenses patients get hit with. They assume any referral from their PCP is going to also be in their network, but when that referral doesn’t participate with their insurer, guess …show more content…
Tell them to get specific codes, if they can, that will help you bill them correctly.
Use a Quality EHR
A recent Health Data Management article highlighted ways doctors are using their EHRs to save their patients money, particularly when it comes to cost of medications. As you may know, EHRs can be set to suggest the generic version of a medication. Often when physicians see this suggestion, they in fact prescribe a generic prescription to their patients, saving them significant money.
A study conducted by the Perelman School of Medicine, the Wharton School, and the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center, suggests that default settings presented to physicians could change their behavior. And the change in behavior would save their patients money.
This is just one of the ways a quality EHR can save your patients and your practice money every