After Cincinnati (OH) Children’s Hospital Medical Center went live with its payment portal three years ago, statement costs decreased by about 20%.
“This created a net budget savings of almost $60,000 per year,” reports Christopher Lah, senior director of patient access.
The greater number of patients enrolled in the portal, the greater the downstream savings will be.
“There was a pent-up need for our customers wanting a quality online option,” says Lah. “Once they saw it, it sold itself.”
The department is projecting online enrollment will top 35,000 patients by the end of FY 2015. “This will translate into another 8% to 10% savings in statement processing costs,” says Lah.
[Editor’s Note: Hospital Access Management is looking for cost-saving tips for publication. Has your patient access department saved money on staffing, supplies, training, or anything else? If you have a cost-cutting tip to share, please contact Stacey Kusterbeck at (631) 425-9760 or [email protected].]
