As consumers take greater control of their medical choices and expenses, healthcare organizations are tasked with identifying ways to minimize bad debt, improve cash flow, attract new patients and increase loyalty among existing patients.

Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a health system operating 53 hospitals in 12 states, and its patient financial services subsidiary, Conifer Revenue Cycle Solutions, sought to address these challenges with self-service technologies. This presentation will explore the benefits of this approach from a patient and administrative perspective and provide practical tips for a successful implementation and engaging the consumer.

Why self-service?
The business case for self-service in healthcare is clear. According to a 2009 Buzzback Market Research survey, 72 percent of U.S. consumers are more likely to choose a healthcare provider that offers the flexibility to interact via online, mobile and kiosk self-service channels versus a provider that does not. Additionally, 31 percent said it would be convenient to be able to pay outstanding balances online or via a mobile device.

Other industries , including travel, retail and banking, have improved the consumer experience through self-service, while also streamlining operations. Tenet believed this concept could be easily applied to address its needs in the healthcare environment by:
a. Streamlining payment processes through an online bill pay offering that eliminates the need for patients to mail checks or call with credit card numbers to pay invoices.
b. Decreasing wait times and administrative costs by minimizing reliance on paper-based registration forms.
c. Improving quality of data obtained during registration to reduce claims rework and denials.

The right strategy
To achieve its goals, Tenet selected a patient portal with online bill pay, enabling patients to inquire about their account status, update profiles and pay outstanding balances via a secure Web-based platform. To access the portal, patients complete a simple enrollment process from their local hospital's Web site.

Tenet also deployed registration kiosks, allowing patients to check-in for appointments, electronically fill out registration forms and pay account balances and co-payments prior to service. Patients simply swipe a credit card or drivers license to begin, and are prompted to authenticate their identity by entering a birth date or another identifier.

This lecture will detail critical factors for engaging patients and practical advice for using self-service technology based on Tenet's experience. It will also provide an overview of lessons learned, including how to:
a. Launch a pilot program with clear and measurable objectives;
b. Ensure applications work well together and with existing systems;
c. Review patient flow to understand how best to configure the solution;
d. Analyze other industries self-service initiatives for keys to successful implementation; and
e. Use marketing strategies to make patients comfortable with the technology.

Results
This presentation will also highlight the business impact of Tenets self-service technology and related ROI, including:
a. Reduced costs. On average, 84 percent of patients do not request hard copies of registration forms following self check-in, significantly reducing administrative costs enterprise-wide.
b. Improved data accuracy. Manual re-entry, scanning and copying of registration data was reduced, leading to increased data accuracy and staff productivity.
c. Optimized cash flow. Registration kiosks facilitated increased time-of-service collections, while online bill pay expedited payment delivery.
d. Enhanced patient experience. At some sites, check-in times are now 2.6 minutes, making the process quicker for patients and saving registrars five minutes per encounter. Since the implementation, 98.4 percent of patients indicated satisfaction with kiosk ease of use.

Moving forward, Tenet continues to educate consumers on self-service applications to spur adoption, continually improve relationships with new and existing patients and reap additional cost savings.