Patient Engagement, Patient Revenue Cycle Solutions, and Payment Guarantees - Takeaways from MGMA 2018

It has been a whirlwind few weeks at Health iPASS as we have been making final preparations for the National MGMA 2018 Conference. There’s nothing quite like finally seeing our custom-designed booth on the trade show floor, our check-in kiosks that are redefining the patient revenue cycle set up and ready, our new video looping on multiple TVs in the background, and our team’s smiling faces, pumped up and ready to share the Health iPASS solution with conference attendees (gazes wistfully into the distance). Ah well, I’m sure you’ll forgive me if I wax poetic.

Now that the conference is over, our team has had time to reflect on the things they learned, the insights they gained, and the great experiences they all had while attending the MGMA 2018 conference. Our team enjoys being present at conferences because it’s a wonderful opportunity to speak with the medical practice community about their most pressing patient revenue cycle pain points, and to get a sense of the bigger picture when it comes to industry trends. We also love doing our giveaways-- this time the lucky winner of our Amazon Echo raffle was David Kobasa from South Shore Orthopedics. From what we witnessed on the trade-show floor to our many discussions with other attendees, here are our MGMA 2018 Top 5 Takeaways:

1) There was a palpable excitement about Health iPASS patient revenue cycle solution features on the trade-show floor, especially our ability to provide cost estimates pre-arrival, at point-of-service, at claim submission, and pre-surgery. According to our COO Imran Ahmad, “There was a natural excitement about Health iPASS and what we can do to transform the patient revenue cycle. It’s a real pain point for providers, and you can see it on the faces of the people we spoke to.” Our booth was hopping, and our 10 team members were kept busy answering questions and giving demos of Health iPASS throughout the conference.

 2) We really noticed an increased demand for ways to clearly and effectively communicate with patients through digital mediums such as email and SMS messaging to improve patient engagement. The healthcare industry is far behind when it comes to mobile adoption and the Health iPASS mobile patient reminders, pre-check-in capabilities (including payment of prior balances and forms management), and multi-channel payment options are a huge step forward for the industry.

 3) Many of the providers we spoke with are on the hunt for a real patient revenue cycle solution that can address the challenges associated with the rise of patient-as-payer, as well as provide the payment convenience, flexibility, and transparency the modern healthcare consumer is seeking.

 4) As our Founder and CEO Rajesh Voddiraju recently predicted, the push towards value-based care is driving many providers to look for one-stop-shop platforms that combine multiple features and functions, allowing practices to cut operation costs by consolidating vendors for their revenue cycle, administrative, and even clinical needs. We anticipate that more vendors will begin forming partnerships to combine and strengthen their respective brands.

 5) Not to toot our own horn too much, but many conference attendees seemed impressed by our small footprint check-in kiosks based on a pay-for-performance approach that require no set up or monthly maintenance costs, and don’t need to be serviced by a specialized technician. On-boarding is simple because we integrate with existing practice management systems. Oh, and Health iPASS is the only patient RCM solution that GUARANTEES patient payments. Yup, you heard that correctly. Guaranteed patient payments. Nice.

We really came away from MGMA 2018 with so much to think about in terms of the needs of potential clients and the industry as a whole. With the insights and connections gained at the conference, and a deep re-invigoration for our mission, we are excited at the endless potential of our solution to continue redefining the patient revenue cycle in healthcare.