Online bill payment is offered across nearly all industries today. However, medical groups and healthcare practices lag behind, as is often the case with customer-centric technology. In terms of customer service, this is a significant miss. Research shows that 59% of patients prefer to pay their bills online, but several healthcare practices don’t have that option.
Many medical aesthetic practices use dated systems to manage payments and patient invoicing, leaving patients frustrated and sometimes having to write a check and mail in their payment. While you’re meeting patient demand in your practice, accepting digital payments offers numerous benefits to you and your patients. This post will explore how online payments are vital in today’s digital world and the advantages it brings to the medical aesthetics field.
Online payments improve patient satisfaction.
The convenience that digital tools bring is no longer a “nice to have” in business – it is expected. The onslaught of COVID-19 expanded the use of contactless payment from being convenient and straightforward to a matter of personal health and safety. As most experts have predicted, these preferences and habits became the norm long after the pandemic kept us indoors.
Adding digital payment options for medical aesthetics promotes greater patient satisfaction and loyalty. In this era of increased competition, independent medical aesthetics practices can’t afford to lose patients frustrated by inefficient payment and billing processes. A recent survey reveals that 36.4% of patients have left a healthcare provider in the last two years, and issues with costs or billing were one of the several reasons for attrition.
Saves time
One of the most apparent benefits of online payments is that it saves time. And this applies to both your practice and your patients. Your medical aesthetics practice saves time on administrative tasks when patients can pay by themselves online. It reduces the overall workload that you need to do when collecting payments. For instance, you don’t need to spend time on the printing and mailing process if patients have the option to sign up for paperless billing.
It also saves you and your team time in the office or on the phone when you don’t take as many payments manually. On the other hand, online payments also save patients time as they won’t need to visit or call your office to settle their balances. Nor do they need to take time to write a check and mail the bill.
A more streamlined workflow
Medical aesthetics practices don’t have the luxury of time and resources to waste on inefficient processes. However, the traditional billing workflow is mostly inefficient, including mailing bills, sending outstanding bills to collections, and allocating front office staff to collect payments in person. Such inefficiencies contribute to delays for both the practice and the patient, which can significantly impact the bottom line: If paying is such a hassle and not an easy process, patients are likely to put it off, or worse, forget about it.
Whereas implementing an online payment system streamlines the whole payment workflow. It simplifies that process by allowing medical aesthetics practices to send text or email invoices. Patients can manage everything digitally, from viewing their bills to settling their accounts online.
This enhanced workflow means your office’s billing staff can focus on other tasks that support your practice’s growth, such as identifying opportunities for improvement, reviewing performance metrics, or studying the initiatives to enhance the revenue cycle further.
Easier to manage with reduced need for cash and checks
Electronic portals make it more convenient to manage money, mainly when it reduces the use of cash and check. Online tools can manage the transactions for you, so you have one worry off your list as the need to run transactions yourself is eliminated. You also don’t need to take cash or checks and deposit them in the bank.
Reducing administrative tasks like this can go a long way in managing your practice better. However, this may sound archaic, but people still use cash and checks. It is up to you to encourage them to settle their bills through the online payment system, which could greatly benefit them. Moreover, using cash or checks adds more security risks and creates more hassle. But by offering a digital payment method in your practice, more people will likely choose it for convenience.
Lowers carbon footprint
Did you know that by making online payments, you are helping the environment? That’s right! Online payments help lower our carbon footprint. As more people switch to digital options, there’s no need to use so much paper. Your clients won’t need a return envelope since they don’t need to send you cash or checks for their payment. You may encourage your clients to opt to receive their statements online so you can go entirely paperless with billing.
Sending online invoices instead of printing can save thousands of sheets of paper. With 3,000 sheets of paper, you can conserve enough fuel to travel 27 miles. You could also save more paper if you typically send other mailing inserts. Your patients won’t need to use cash or checks, so the saving continues.
Online payments can attract more clients to your medical aesthetics practice.
As more people prefer the online payment option, this can be a selling point for your practice. This offers a competitive edge and makes your practice more appealing to your potential and existing clients. One survey found that 63% of people were more likely to purchase at a business if it accepts digital payments. The same is true for aesthetic patients looking for practitioners with digital advantages.
Younger generations particularly look for these choices. Digital payments are most popular for ages 30-39 at 57%. Millennials and Generation Z choose providers on convenience and digital offerings. As these groups become your main target prospects, you must keep up with what these generations want. If your practice doesn’t keep up with the modern ways of attracting clients, you might eventually start seeing fewer patients.
Are you ready to take your practice to the next level by offering online payments? Growth99 can assist you! Contact us for a free consultation to learn more about our dynamic team and us!
