How an Integrated Payment Solution Supports Patients and Practice Efficiency

If you and your team use practice management software (PMS) or patient relationship management (PRM) systems, weaving the financing step of your process right into your existing technology could be a huge help. Software systems that sync can mean less back-and-forth between screens and fewer logins to keep track of for staff members, decreased errors at checkout and a better overall patient experience.

The benefits don’t stop there. The 2023 CareCredit Staff Burnout Survey has shown that efficient, integrated technologies can help reduce administrative burden.¹ And having financing built into your platforms can provide your patients or clients with options at the point of care to help them make more confident decisions.

Learn more about how optimizing your practice’s payment technology stack can help better serve your staff and your patients.

Leading Health and Wellness Practices Are Embracing Technology

In a survey of health system executives, 72% said it is important to invest in platforms and digital tools. These technologies can help automate or improve workflows, reduce wait times and enhance the overall patient experience.²

Patients and clients have come to expect the same technology-driven enhancements that power their other consumer transactions and appointments. Why should the health and wellness sector be any less innovative? Practices that lean on tech to improve patient experiences and provide a more streamlined visit can stand out from offices that rely on outdated, slow-moving systems or have long wait times and a clunky checkout process.

Tech integration could also have benefits for your administrative staff. Thirty percent of staff members reported that they had responsibilities in billing.¹ A platform that can bring billing and collection into your existing systems can free up time for staffers to work on other tasks. And, by not having to click back and forth and log in and out of several screens just to service one patient, it can help speed up the checkout process.

What Are Integrated Payments and Why Are They Important?

One of the key features of an effective system for your practice is having a built-in payment solution. That’s because costs and billing are often top of mind for most patients deciding to make a health and wellness appointment or trying to select a provider.

In some cases, patients delay care altogether because of financial reasons. As one example, CareCredit's Dental Lifetime of Care Study found that 92% of patients would consider holding off on general dental care because of cost. Even more concerning is that 17% of respondents have actually ignored a recommended procedure, and 44% of that group said that decision led to additional dental issues.³

And it's not just for dental visits, for which out-of-pocket costs can overwhelm someone's budget. For general health and wellness care, CareCredit's Cost Impact Study revealed that 1 in 2 patients put off appointments due to out-of-pocket expenses.⁴

Financial concerns can also impact which provider a person ultimately chooses. A McKinsey study revealed that 40% of surveyed consumers prioritize out-of-pocket costs when searching for a provider, while nearly 17% cited the cost of services as a barrier to receiving care.⁵

With all that in mind, anything your practice can do to minimize the financial barrier to care can help bring more people in the door and help you retain patients. Here are a few of the ways that an integrated payment technology can help on that front:

• From a practical standpoint, having digital tools that are accessible in one platform means fewer tech bottlenecks for staff members to deal with, leading to greater efficiency at checkout and a better patient experience.⁶
• Built-in payment solutions offer up-front transparency about the cost to the patient (rather than getting a surprise bill in the mail weeks later).⁷
• Practices can also offer payment plans and different payment options to help reduce financial friction. For example, patients may get pre-approved for a line of credit, which can create more opportunities to move forward with care.

Integrated Payments Can Create Comfort Around Cost Conversations

The National Patient Advocate Foundation recommends that providers initiate a discussion about costs and the resources available to help patients pay for care from the get-go.⁸ This can help normalize financial conversations and quell some of the anxieties that patients may have.

Patients have shared that they prefer ironing out financial matters with their health and wellness providers rather than waiting for a bill to arrive. As Experian Health’s 2024 State of Patient Access survey revealed, nearly all patients (96%) said an accurate pre-appointment estimate of treatment costs is essential, with 43% saying they would cancel appointments without it.⁹

Despite that preference, 64% of patients reported that they did not receive a cost estimate before care.⁹ Having these conversations in advance, paired with a financing option, can help practices improve their on-site patient collections.

When your payments process (including financing) works within your practice software systems, it can help make those cost conversations more natural. Not only can they happen in real time before or during the appointment, but you can also present the patient with financing options they may not have known they had. This can be especially important for healthcare and wellness services like dental care, chiropractic visits or veterinary care, which may not be fully covered by traditional health insurance.

CareCredit Offers a Patient- and Practice-Friendly Payment Solution

The CareCredit credit card is a financing solution that can be integrated with many of the leading practice systems that health and wellness providers use.

When you turn on the CareCredit feature in your system, you can:

• See which patients are pre-approved for CareCredit (even before they come in for the appointment). This allows your administrative staff to reach out before the visit, perhaps when the appointment is confirmed, to discuss payment options.
• Send the pre-approved application link or a payment request to the patient’s or client’s personal device directly from your software system.
• See the CareCredit features right within your software since there is no login or screen-toggling required.
• Easily look up cardholder account numbers right within your software system if the patient does not have their physical CareCredit card with them.
• Eliminate some post-visit manual data entry since transactions are linked directly to your daily ledger.

Also, if the patient requests, providers can see if they prequalify* using the CareCredit Provider Center or Practice Management Software. If they are prequalified, they can accept the offer and providers can submit the application on their behalf.

“I have an iPad that I use to do CareCredit prequalifications with Open Dental,” says Erica McDade, treatment coordinator at Seven Hills Dentistry in Dallas, Ga. “The prequalification takes about two minutes, and I get about 6 out of 10 patients approved through the app.”

Miranda Duel, office manager at Homestead Animal Hospital in Mechanicville, N.Y., finds the built-in CareCredit patient financing to be more efficient as well. “Before, we had a credit card terminal on our desk where we had to run patients through and then go back to record payment, and that caused more human error. Now it is all automatic through the integration,” she says.

Help Streamline Your Practice

You can provide the highest quality care for your patients, but if you rely on outdated office processes, you could be missing out on opportunities to grow your practice. One healthcare payment trend to jump on is integrating patient financing solutions within your existing technology. Not only will it help streamline your business operations and take some administrative tasks off your staff’s plate, but it can also help improve the patient financial experience by introducing alternative ways to pay for care.

Offer Flexible Financing at Your Practice

If you are looking for a way to connect your patients or clients with flexible financing that empowers them to pay for the care they want and need, consider offering CareCredit as a financing solution. CareCredit allows cardholders to pay for out-of-pocket health and wellness expenses over time while helping enhance the payments process for your practice or business.

When you accept CareCredit, patients or clients can see if they prequalify with no impact to their credit score, and those who apply, if approved, can take advantage of special financing on qualifying purchases.* Additionally, you will be paid directly within two business days.

Learn more about the CareCredit credit card as a financing solution or start the provider enrollment process by filling out this form.

Author Bio

Dawn Papandrea is a journalist with more than two decades of experience covering personal finance and consumer issues. She has written for leading financial publications and organizations, including U.S. News & World Report, Investopedia, Bankrate and others.

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The CareCredit health and wellness credit card helps improve the payment experience for patients and clients, and your financial performance.

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