Written by Andrew Neal on Jun 21, 2023
Insights from American Express, Salucro, and Wix on Digital Payment Innovation in Healthcare
Leading financial technology leaders from American Express, Salucro, and Wix recently participated in a webinar to discuss the challenges, trends, and opportunities in digital payment innovation. Watch the full panel discussion: “Digital Payment Innovation – What Businesses Need to Know.” Here are a few highlights from the webinar:
Bridging the Gap in Healthcare Payments
Revenue cycle leaders continue to bridge the gap in payment innovation in the healthcare industry – an industry that healthcare leaders acknowledge is traditionally slow to adopt new and improved payment solutions.
The Salucro platform offers a comprehensive suite of patient financial engagement solutions, providing multiple payment options such as American Express and other popular debit and credit card issuers, HSA and FSA cards, Venmo, and healthcare-specific third-party financing options like CareCredit.
"[We] recognize that despite all the great advancements in medical technology, the healthcare industry has been historically slow to adopt efficient payment solutions and technologies that could significantly enhance the patient experience and streamline operations," said Rebecca Grossman, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for Salucro.
A recent study released by American Express and PayPal highlighted consumer expectations from small and medium-sized businesses. In the study, consumers stated that their primary reasons for using digital payments at checkout were ease of use, availability of best deals, and better security.
These findings echo the data we’ve seen in the healthcare sector. Salucro’s 2023 Trends in Patient Payment Communications report found similar sentiments among healthcare consumers. The report shows that 62% of patients are now using online portals to pay their medical bills. Just as consumers prefer businesses that offer an easy and secure digital checkout experience, patients also favor healthcare providers that offer simple, secure, and flexible payment options.
Healthcare revenue cycle leaders understand that the adoption of patient-friendly, digital-first payment solutions is not just about keeping up with technology trends. Rather, it’s about meeting the evolving expectations of patients and improving their financial experience.
Streamlining Administrative Processes and Improving Revenue Cycle Management
Administrative tasks can consume a significant portion of resources for hospitals and other medical providers, including time, labor, and costs. Digital payment solutions are now helping to redefine the administrative experience for healthcare providers and helping to produce significant improvements in revenue cycle management.
“Salucro streamlines the payment processes by automating manual tasks associated with billing and collections, and our user-friendly platform and diverse payment options make it easier for patients to manage their payments, leading to higher satisfaction, improved payment compliance, and better revenue recovery,” said Grossman.
Salucro’s payment platform is modernizing the healthcare industry by automating previously manual, time-consuming tasks, thereby not only reducing administrative costs, but also freeing up staff to devote more attention to patient care instead of administrative duties.
According to Shahar Friedman, the Director of Fintech for Wix, they are also heavily focused on improving revenue cycle management and creating an efficient workflow for their customers.
“Wix Payments is a payment gateway which really allows our customers to accept payments from all over the world and in multiple currencies, which is key. And we support a wide range of payment methods and payment capabilities,” said Friedman.
Ensuring Data Security and Compliance Measures
At the heart of any reputable payment vendor should be an unwavering commitment to data security and compliance. As a Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) validated solution, Salucro prioritizes the secure processing of encrypted payment card data. Salucro also certifies to PCI DSS as a Level 1 Service Provider, demonstrating our commitment to maintaining a secure environment for payment card information.
Consumers deserve to know that their sensitive financial data is guarded with high levels of security within the Salucro platform. This dedication towards maintaining the strictest security standards enables them to focus on delivering high-quality service, while a third-party payment vendor like Salucro manages the intricacies of secure payment processing–helping to reduce the security and compliance burden that is placed on already overwhelmed revenue cycle teams.
Partnering with Third-Party Vendors to Implement New Technology
Over the last several years, an increasing reliance on digital services has led payment vendors to implement new solutions for their customers and partners, but implementing new payment solutions must be done properly in order to be successful. Putting too much burden on existing staff and IT teams can cause unnecessary stress for any organization.
“At Salucro, we’re keenly aware of these concerns, so we’re focused on not only providing really top-notch and cost-effective solutions to solve for patient payments and healthcare payments, but we also work closely with our providers and partners to ensure a fast and seamless implementation,” said Grossman.
The pervading theme between Wix, Salucro and other highly rated payment vendors is the importance of providing a secure and seamless onboarding experience. Salucro emphasizes partnership and collaboration when working with providers to implement a new solution.
“We’ll work with revenue cycle and IT teams to champion these technologies, so it feels less like a disruption to their existing workflows and more like a necessary update that makes their day-to-day a lot easier and their revenue cycle processes more efficient,” said Grossman.
Exploring Future Trends in Healthcare Payment Innovation
Salucro remains focused on increasing support for new payment types and growing its integrations with other healthcare technology vendors to meet and exceed the expectations of providers and their patients.
“In addition to expanding support for the new payment types that are becoming popular with patients, we remain keenly focused on deepening our integrations with other healthcare technology vendors to really deliver the most streamlined payment experience for our healthcare customers, and ultimately their patients,” said Grossman.
Embracing payment innovation and enhancing patient financial experiences are critical steps to take in order to stay competitive in today’s rapidly changing healthcare landscape.
Watch the full webinar, “Digital Payment Innovation – What Businesses Need to Know.” on-demand now.