March 15, 2023

Preventing Patient Revenue Loss Before It Begins

For nearly 100 years, Wayne Memorial Hospital (WMH) has been woven into the fabric of their northeastern Pennsylvania community, and is Wayne County’s largest employer. Like many other hospitals in the United States, WMH was hurting financially as a result of rapid changes in the healthcare system throughout the last decade.

During the healthcare revenue cycles from 2014 – 2016, WMH lost over $22 million in revenues. During 2017, that number skyrocketed as many patients were forced to choose more “affordable” high-deductible health plans. That trend is reflected in a tenfold increase, from 3% to 30% since 2005, in the percentage of patient-responsible revenues owed to all U.S. hospitals. WMH realized they must adapt their billing practices and culture to this new reality or face the possibility of closure.

WMH engaged VestaCare to provide the only system capable of securing the patient’s total financial obligation before or at the time of service, and the only system with multiple compassionate payment options to ensure patients can afford their monthly payments.

To ease the transition for WMH’s patient-facing staff, VestaCare provided training with chair-side assistants to guide staff through the cultural change needed to secure payment up front. Once WMH staff realized that setting up patients on these payment options would actually help patients avoid receiving massive bills or collection agency calls months after being discharged, they embraced the change.

As a direct result of WMH adopting VestaCare’s process, patients reported a positive hospital experience and WMH realized an increase in patient satisfaction scores.