Creating a Positive Patient Experience Case Study
CASE STUDY
Faith-based system improves patient experience with patient-centric collections.
Partnering with Ensemble, Bon Secours Mercy Health achieves a 20% boost in collections and consistent increases in patient satisfaction scores.
SNAPSHOT
Ensemble’s patient experience team collaborated with leaders across Bon Secours Mercy Health to design a patient-centric, pre-service collection program that helped improve patient satisfaction before and after care delivery. We created and implemented a tailored program, closely monitoring patient satisfaction scores to prevent a negative impact to patient experience. As a result, Bon Secours Mercy Health saw a 20% increase in pre-service collections and a consistent quarterly increase in patient satisfaction scores.
PROFILE
- > 1,200 sites of care
- 50 hospitals
- 60,000 associates
- > $2M a day in community benefits
Challenges
As care delivery options increase and patients become more selective about their choice of healthcare providers, patient experience is becoming increasingly important to consider across all touch points in the care continuum, not just clinical. Defined as ”the sum of all interactions shaped by an organization’s culture that influence patient perception across the continuum of care,” patient experience has a critical impact on patient retention and overall satisfaction of patients and providers.
There is a common myth that if healthcare organizations implement best practices for revenue cycle, like collecting at the point-of-service, patient experience scores automatically drop.
80% of patients want their doctors to help them manage financial responsibilities by clearly communicating what insurance covers vs. what they owe.
Solution
Bon Secours Mercy Health partnered with Ensemble to reimagine its point-of-service collections program. Prioritizing empathy and equipping staff to engage patients at an early stage, they helped educate patients about their financial responsibilities, connected them to financial assistance resources, evaluated discount eligibility and offered payment plans to minimize confusion and stress — resulting in better payment rates and increased patient satisfaction.
Ensemble’s approach:
Developed an organizational vision + interdepartmental strategy
- Clarified the vision for increasing POS collections and secured strong executive buy-in
- Established strategic planning sessions to identify and address operational gaps, documenting the approach while gaining approval with stakeholders beyond just Patient Access
- Created a comprehensive implementation roadmap, complete with deadlines, training and internal communications to ensure no key items were missed
- Shared the vision including the “why” and “how” so Patient Access teams could collect with confidence
Standardized communication + robust education
- Provided unified scripting and process documentation across all locations and areas including ED, OP and IP to ensure consistent conversations
- Fostered inclusion and open communication between leaders from multiple departments and advocacy groups while presenting in clinical leadership and associate meetings
- Collaborated with marketing to enhance awareness and understand the “why” behind the program through signage and social media efforts
- Empowered teams and ensured associate confidence through cohesive training on patient experience, service recovery, insurance and benefits
Deployed the right tools, information _ resources
- Launched a real-time eligibility tool that integrated with the HIS system, enabling staff to answer important insurance and payment questions
- Rolled out a patient liability estimator to accurately project out-of-pocket costs for patients
- Implemented robust reporting and monitoring to track daily collections, missed opportunities and estimate accuracy
Ensured implementation + accountability
- Offered onsite support during the rollout to reinforce staff confidence
- Emphasized real-time service recovery to proactively address any negative patient experiences
- Celebrated wins and achievements to maintain momentum
We are honored to partner with Bon Secours Mercy Health in their mission to improve community health and well-being by delivering excellent, accessible care — especially for those most in need.
Nothing will kill patient experience faster than getting a bill two weeks after you’ve been seen and not knowing it’s coming.
Results
Consistent quarterly increase in patient satisfaction scores