Purpose
Because meeting the needs of the patient – the consumer – is our first priority, the Patient Friendly Billing project has conducted research, including focus groups of patients and healthcare workers around the country. The participants’ message was loud and clear: Patient billing is a significant problem for patients and providers. Consumers want a healthcare financial communications process that is clear, concise, correct and patient friendly.
Clear: All financial communications should be easy to understand and written in clear language. Patients should be able to quickly determine what they need to do with the communication.
Concise: The bills should contain just the right amount of detail necessary to communicate the message.
Correct: The bills or statements should not include estimates of liabilities, incomplete information, or errors.
Patient Friendly: The needs of patients and family members should be paramount when designing administrative processes and communications.
Philosophy
The Patient Friendly Billing project is based on the following ideals:
- The needs of patients and family members should be paramount when designing administrative processes and communications.
- Information gathering should be coordinated with other providers and insurers, and this collection process should be done efficiently, privately, and with as little duplication as possible.
- When possible, communication of financial information should not occur during the medical encounter.
- The average reader should easily understand the language and format of financial communications.
- Continuous improvement of the billing process should be made by implementing better practices and incorporating feedback from patients and consumers.