Inflation is making healthcare more expensive. In July 2022 the consumer price index grew by 8.5% year-over-year, while the Healthcare price index saw a 2.8% increase. Healthcare will not have an easier ride than other businesses if prices rise slowly. Inflation effects can be delayed because healthcare contracts are made in advance with both government and commercial payers. How can providers account for such unpredictability in their revenue cycle management strategies. 

 

What will Impact providers Bottom Line? 

Healthcare is more resilient to economic shocks than any other service sector. Inflation doesn’t necessarily indicate that there is an immediate need to change. Providers work hard to keep a healthy revenue cycle, and they will continue to do this now. Provider cash flow is vulnerable to the continuing financial effects of the pandemic and staffing shortages. Although there is no evidence that patient collections have been affected by inflation, patients might assume that their health care costs will rise along with all other expenses. They might delay elective care which could impact providers’ bottom line. To keep the practice running, one must make sure to implement the right practice management solution so that there will be no issues at all.  

 

What are the Areas in which Providers will be Most Affected by the Inflation? 

Providers will be most affected by inflation in the area of payroll expenses. Inflation can lead to higher costs for providers as they raise salaries to retain and attract new staff, increase overtime costs and hire more temporary workers. These problems will only be exacerbated by reduced purchasing power. 

Automation and digital tools can be used to address staff shortages, reduce payroll costs, and increase efficiency in existing workflows. Digital technology, for example, can be used to allow patients to handle many administrative tasks on their own, thereby reducing the need for staff input. Online self-scheduling and registration let patients book appointments and complete pre-service paperwork, without taking up precious staff time. These tools use data and automation to prefill patient information. This reduces the chance of costly errors and saves both time and money for staff. Thanks to telehealth solution, these issues have been sorted out a lot with the help of this tool.  

 

How can Providers Support their Patients? 

There are some ways through which the providers can help their patients. Some of them are stated below: 

• The first thing a provider can do is to assist patients in getting the right understanding of their medical bills as well as other payment methods. This can only be done by implementing a solution that provides complete price transparency. 
• Secondly, another way is to integrate coverage discovery tool. This is an automated tool that helps in finding the missing or forgotten insurance coverage. In this way, the patients get to know everything about how their bills will be covered.  

These are some of the ways in which the providers can easily support their patients without any hassle whatsoever.