Closing the gaps in the patient payment experience

Health care providers have made significant investments in payment infrastructure to support collections and enhance the patient payment experience. Many organizations now offer payment portals along with flexible options such as digital wallets and a range of payment applications.

While these technologies are widely adopted by patients, opportunities remain to further improve the overall payment experience. In many cases, the challenges are less about the technology itself and more about how supporting systems and processes are coordinated. As health care organizations modernize patient access, billing, and clinical platforms, alignment across these initiatives can vary, which may lead to inconsistencies in the patient experience.

The role of cross-team alignment in patient payment experiences

In many health care organizations, the patient payment experience can differ across channels, which may create moments of friction for patients. For example, a patient might access their bill through one system and complete payment through another or encounter different payment options depending on the provider they see within the same health system.

When experiences feel inconsistent, it can cause confusion and frustration with patients. Over time, this can influence how patients perceive convenience and service quality, and in some cases may factor into decisions about where they choose to receive care. In fact, more than 60% of patients either have left a provider or are considering leaving a provider due to frustrations with their payment experience.

These situations often reflect the complexity of coordinating across departments that each play a role in the patient payment experience. IT may manage the infrastructure, Billing defines business rules, and Patient Engagement oversees communications. Without a shared operational approach, decisions can be made independently, making it more difficult to deliver a consistent, seamless, patient-centered experience.

A framework for closing the gap

Implementing a frictionless payment experience across departments and points of patient interaction can be supported by a framework that brings together people, process, and technology. Even the simplest of models such as align, activate, advance—can make a world of difference to the patient payment experience:

1. Align the appropriate stakeholders on a shared vision for patient payments by looking across departments at existing patient experiences, including supported payment channels and payment methods.
   1. Which product are patients using to complete their payment?
      1. i.e., inside the EHR platform, via third party non-EHR product, back-office manual exceptions, etc.
   2. Which payment methods are supported at each point of interaction?
   3. Are payment methods being stored during the transaction process?
      1. If so, are stored payments shared and available across the rest of the patient points of interaction throughout the health care system environment, or limited to each point of interaction?
   4. Review the findings from across the health care system and ensure alignment on an ecosystem-wide strategic go-forward experience.
2. Activate the go-forward strategic tools you’ve aligned on for all points of patient interaction. This helps ensure that the same payment methods are offered across experiences and that payment information is being tokenized and made available in every environment in partnership with your dedicated payment provider. Raise awareness of the new payment experience with patients and employees so they know what to expect.
3. Advance your operations by optimizing performance based on patient feedback and payment acceptance. Continue to activate payment methods across the wider patient experience to ensure a seamless patient experience. This is where transformation becomes measurable and repeatable.

This framework works because it isn’t about adding more features or complexity or bolting on additional systems and solutions. It’s about making the tools you already have deliver the intended results through ecosystem-wide coordination.

Clarifying ownership across the patient payment journey

In some organizations, decision-making authority for patient payments is spread across multiple teams. When ownership isn’t clearly aligned, this can lead to inconsistencies and unnecessary friction in the payment experience.

Often roles are split across multiple departments. For example, IT teams might take responsibility for infrastructure, integrations, and vendor management, with billing owning payment logic, account workflows, and settlement rules. Patient engagement and access teams take the lead on the front-end experience, messaging, and support, with compliance overseeing PCI adherence, security policies, and audit-readiness.

This shouldn’t be problematic because each department has its own expertise. But alignment on their patient payment experience at an ecosystem level helps deliver a consistent and intuitive payment experience.

Three signals that highlight cross-team alignment

When analyzing how well your digital payment operations are working, it helps to look beyond adoption rates. The following three alignment signals can help surface where gaps may exist and point to areas needing closer review:

• Payment completion rate. Of the patients who start a payment, how many finish without abandoning the process? Lower completion rates can signal inconsistencies in payment flows or handoffs between systems.
• Token continuity rate. Can a saved card or payment method be used easily and without issue in-person, in the portal, and on mobile? Can a payment method stored against a token be used across associated facilities?
• Support calls related to the payment experience. If patients are calling to complete basic payment transactions, especially if they first attempted digital payment, it might be time to explore where improvements can be made.

These metrics are strategic, as well as operational. They provide insights into how well the payments infrastructure is connected both technically and organizationally.

A well-aligned seamless payment experience supports trust and reduces friction for patients. In many cases, progress comes through strategic alignment of teams, products, and tools across the patient journey.

Johnathan Welch is Chief Product Officer at TrustCommerce, a Sphere company