Nurse and man sitting on couch looking at a tablet

Eliminating inefficiencies in healthcare billing and claims drives revenue and patient satisfaction

View our infographic below for insights on inefficiencies in healthcare from our exclusive “Hospital Billing Study.”

Health systems are confronting a significant increase in claim denials, leading to more administrative work, greater revenue uncertainty, and adverse patient outcomes. Manual and paper-based processes contribute to some of those denied and underpaid claims. Something as simple as an incorrect address, Social Security number, or missing piece of patient information can trigger a denial.

Ricoh commissioned The Harris Poll to learn more about billing and insurance claims directly from those who have received hospital-based services in the past five years, finding that they have far greater implications than shrinking provider revenue — they may ultimately affect the likelihood that patients pursue care at all.

Our study indicated that just over three out of five (62%) of recent hospital patients would be more likely to seek healthcare when needed if billing and insurance claims processes took less time to navigate.

With growing pressures on health delivery organizations due to consumerization and rising competition from CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and others, addressing inefficiencies in healthcare is crucial to reducing customer attrition.

That’s especially true for younger patients — our study reported that 55% of those ages 18-34 have avoided seeing a healthcare provider because they didn't want to deal with errors or follow-up required by billing and insurance claims.

62% of recent hospital patients say they would be more likely to seek healthcare when needed if billing and insurance claims processes took less time to navigate.¹

Gain additional healthcare insights

View our infographic for insights from our exclusive “Hospital Billing Study,” and learn what patients have to say about:

Billing/insurance errors
Improving workflows in healthcare
Likelihood they’ll pursue care

View infographic

Bedside manner still matters

Despite technological advancements, manual processes and other inefficiencies still adversely influence the journey — driving up costs, increasing time and resource needs, and negatively affecting patient and staff experience.

Our study reported that 4 out of 5 recent hospital patients (80%) agree that hospitals need to modernize and automate their billing and insurance claims processes so employees can focus more on patient care. In addition, 68% of recent hospital patients believe healthcare workers spend so much time on paperwork that it limits the time they spend with patients.

Patient care and outcomes may be impacted by slow, inefficient, or even inaccurate service. Nearly three-quarters of recent hospital patients (73%) reported that inefficiencies in the handling of billing and insurance claims can cause adverse health implications.

Other significant survey findings:

Over half of recent hospital patients (52%) have had inaccurate information in their medical records in the past five years.
More than two in five recent hospital patients (43%) say some of their billing/insurance claim correspondence for hospital-based services in the past five years contained errors.
About one in five recent hospital patients describe the healthcare staff they engaged with as tired (20%) or stressed (19%), and 11% say they were distracted.

We invite you to download this infographic to discover how Ricoh’s revenue cycle management services and solution offerings enable you to create exceptional patient, caregiver, provider, and employee experiences with speed and efficiency.

Survey Method:

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Ricoh from November 10-14, 2022, among 2,064 U.S. adults ages 18 and older among who 1,628 are recent hospital patients (received hospital-based services in the past 5 years). The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact John Greco, john.greco@ricoh-usa.com.

¹Source: “Hospital Billing Study”, Ricoh/Harris Poll, Nov. 2022.

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