Q&A with Patientco CEO Bird Blitch

Med Ad News talked to Bird Blitch, CEO of Patientco, a cloud-based payments company that gives hospitals a single platform to manage every patient payment that is processed at any point in a health system.

Med Ad News: Please discuss ways in which COVID-19 unveiled the inefficiencies and patient frustrations of the U.S. healthcare system and healthcare providers who were lagging in digital transformation efforts. 

Bird Blitch: COVID-19 exacerbated the challenges many patients face when seeking care and interacting with healthcare providers. In many ways, it changed how U.S. healthcare systems fundamentally operate. In particular, this manifested in the need for more effective digital transformation strategies. While telehealth adoption flourished during the pandemic, there are additional digital channels that health systems can deploy to reestablish trust with patients, and keep them engaged and informed. However, true digital transformation should make it easier and more intuitive for patients and providers to interact, and this requires more than an assortment of technology solutions.

For example, many healthcare IT companies have created solutions such as patient portals and billing statements that do not connect to the underlying patient payment technologies. This assortment of point solutions creates friction for patients, often in the form of multiple bills after a single visit and a lack of clarity around their out-of-pocket costs. For health system team members, disconnected point solutions make it difficult to look up a patient’s account, and answer patient questions or concerns about their healthcare expenses.

Additionally, health systems employ hundreds of team members to handle high volumes of manual tasks, such as answering patient phone calls, responding to emails and patient portal messages and more. During and after the pandemic, patients will naturally have questions regarding their health, a rescheduled elective procedure, a bill they received, or payment options. Many health systems will also have a backlog of elective procedures to reschedule and therefore, a large volume of patient outreach to conduct. 

There is huge opportunity for digital tools to streamline these tasks and ultimately enable health systems to care for more patients. This type of digital transformation is key, hinging on the ability to tightly integrate patient engagement tools and create patient-centric experiences. By integrating the right technologies, such as real-time chat and self-service payment options for example, health systems and their team members can focus more on patient care and less on administrative tasks. From the patient’s perspective, self-service or AI-driven technologies like chat mean they can get their questions answered more quickly and move on with their care. For instance, if a patient is anxious about the cost of their care and has a question about their price estimate, the patient can easily get the information they need to address their cost concerns and proceed with their treatment, all with no added burden on the health system’s team members. 

Med Ad News: How are organizations’ economic and health equity gaps exposed by COVID-19 being addressed currently and/or will be addressed moving forward?

Bird Blitch: COVID-19 has exposed significant economic and health equity gaps, revealing how certain populations experience obstacles more acutely than others when seeking healthcare. There are many factors that are risk markers for gaps in health equity. A patient’s socioeconomic status, as well as access to quality healthcare and their level of trust in the healthcare system impact their ability to achieve optimal health. For instance, communities of color, rural populations, and other underserved groups are disproportionately affected by conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. And, COVID-19 has ravaged underserved communities at much higher rates. 

The onset of the pandemic has created greater commitment and a renewed sense of urgency to breaking down gaps and inequities in healthcare. As we continue into 2021, organizations in the healthcare community will make more strategic business decisions in order to support better health equity and ensure every patient can reach their full health potential. For example, industry associations like the American Hospital Association (AHA) and CDC are stepping up to create positions fully dedicated to improving health equity and inclusion. Both have created senior leadership positions dedicated to overseeing health equity and inclusion strategies. Additionally, Johnson & Johnson has already committed $100 million over the next five years to invest in and promote health equity solutions for underserved populations in the U.S.

With these industry-leading associations and organizations taking substantial action for improving health equity and inclusion, healthcare organizations that look to these associations for best practices and recommendations now have a forum dedicated to health equity. This will spur collaboration, learning and dialogue among healthcare leaders, and thus, drive industry-wide change.

Med Ad News: How is the industry making progress to improve healthcare financial literacy for patients?

Bird Blitch: In our digital-first world, patients are now interested in the same type of experience they get when ordering takeout or a rideshare. Now more than ever, patients demand the ability to seamlessly set up and manage medical payments each time they see their healthcare provider, with the same convenience they would have when ordering from services such as Amazon or Uber Eats. And patients expect greater transparency over their healthcare expenses. They demand clear explanations of charges and want to understand why they owe what they owe.

As a result, our industry has increasingly realized the importance of improving healthcare financial literacy in 2021. For too long, poor financial literacy has impacted patients’ decision-making processes, putting them at risk for less-than-ideal health outcomes. Patientco’s 2020 State of the Patient Financial Experience survey report even found that 45 percent of patients delay medical care or skip it altogether due to concerns about their out-of-pocket costs. And some patients reported their condition worsened as a result. However, healthcare providers, insurers and even technology companies can collaborate to create a future where patients are empowered with greater financial clarity, rather than anxious, so they can make informed decisions about their care. 

Med Ad News: Are there any other trends that will impact the healthcare industry in 2021?

Bird Blitch: Mental health will be top of mind for health system executives in 2021. The pandemic has had a profound impact on patients’ mental health with many adults and children struggling with anxiety, loneliness and depression. According to Mental Health America, in 2020 we saw the highest levels of anxiety and depression in the U.S. since the pandemic hit in March. This is an issue our industry cannot ignore. Therefore, more healthcare organizations will focus their efforts on promoting access to mental health care and addressing issues that prevent patients from getting the care they need. 

By promoting access to mental health care, providers can offer more comprehensive care for patients, ensuring positive health outcomes, both physically and mentally. This will ultimately help healthcare providers build trust with patients. When patients trust their provider, they more fully realize the benefits of establishing good healthcare habits and reach their full health potential when they visit the doctor regularly. 

Med Ad News: What may be some of the long-term effects that the pandemic will have on the healthcare industry?

Bird Blitch: The healthcare industry will continue to focus on removing financial barriers that prevent patients from seeking care. Governing entities have passed legislation such as the price transparency rule and the No Surprises Act, which aims to protect patients from receiving surprise medical bills – especially in situations where patients have little or no control over who provides their care. 

While these policy changes are a step in the right direction, healthcare costs are still a huge concern for many Americans and that isn’t something that will change overnight. One recent study found that 66.5 percent of personal bankruptcies in America were tied to medical expenses. Patients often perceive their financial situation as a barrier to getting the clinical care they need. Although these issues are not new, the pandemic has heightened the need to address these concerns. Better education about health insurance and how it impacts the patient’s out-of-pocket cost, along with more flexible payment options can help patients budget for their healthcare needs, which improves population health and ultimately leads to healthier communities. 

Additionally, health systems will increasingly leverage digital tools, including telehealth, remote monitoring, and digital therapeutic offerings to bridge gaps in care delivery. As the cost of healthcare continues to rise, offering tools that prevent or reverse diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes, which can be costly for patients and healthcare providers, will prove worthwhile. Digital health offerings will drive the personalized digital health movement forward by reinforcing positive health behaviors, including adherence to prescription medications, maintaining adequate levels of physical activity, and more. This kind of transformation will be irreversibly game-changing, both for healthcare providers and their patients. 

Healthcare often follows consumer trends in other industries, including retail, so we may see wider adoption of other digital tools, as well. For instance, patients may start accessing healthcare through new channels, such as voice assistants. This scenario isn’t one for the distant future, as 52 percent of consumers would be willing to use a voice assistant for a variety of healthcare needs, according to a recent survey by Voicebot. Today, only 7.5 percent of consumers have previously used a voice assistant for a healthcare-related task, which suggests that there is a significant upside opportunity for patients to learn, adopt, and use this technology, just as they have in other areas of their lives.