Selected Podcast
Ep. 6: Improving the Patient Financial Journey
Roxanna Gapstur, President and CEO of WellSpan Health and Vice President of Finance for Access and Scheduling, Nakesha Muldrow, MBA discuss the financial journey patients experience at WellSpan and what WellSpan is doing to make the process easier for their patients.
Featuring:
Nakesha Muldrow, MBA | Roxanna Gapstur PhD, RN
Nakesha Muldrow is Vice President of Finance for Access and Scheduling. She is responsible for WellSpan’s efforts to improve patient satisfaction and enhance the overall experience of registration, scheduling and insurance. Transcription:
Michael Carrese: You're listening to Inspiring Health with Dr. Roxanna Gapstur, President and CEO of WellSpan Health. As she hosts candid conversations about organizational, culture, value and other pressing issues we face in healthcare and business today.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: When it comes to making care simpler, we're constantly challenging ourselves to innovate and make it easier for patients to choose WellSpan. One of the ways we're delivering on this commitment is by providing greater price, transparency, and affordability to consumers. As users of healthcare services ourselves, we all know how difficult it can be to navigate cost estimates, billing statements, health insurance plans, financial assistance. So today we'll cover three areas where WellSpan is focusing on making big strides to improve the patient financial journey, a shoppable list of services with market competitive prices, our new online Epic price estimator tool, and Visit Pay a new software tool coming soon to improve patient experience and efficiency. Joining me today is Nakesha Muldrow our Vice President of Finance for Access and Scheduling. She's responsible for WellSpan's efforts to improve patient satisfaction and also to enhance the overall experience of registration, scheduling and insurance. Nakesha welcome.
Nakesha Muldrow: Thank you, Roxana. Thanks for the invite.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: Nakesha let's start by talking about your background in registration and access. While this might seem like a behind the scenes detail, it is actually the key to unlocking so many preferences about our patients. How does this touch point in the system support our goals to truly listen to our patients and consumers?
Nakesha Muldrow: Well, Roxanna since I've been with WellSpan for about 14 years now I've worked under finance in different areas of patient access. I think that over that period of time the team has shifted from being seen as a point of data and billing collection to an important component of the patient experience. Every interaction is an opportunity to listen and learn from pre-service phone interactions, to point of service support, and the payment of patient bills. I think we are well positioned to hear the patient and to respond promptly whenever we're able.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: Affordability and price transparency are two big challenges that all healthcare organizations face, as we work here at WellSpan to make care more affordable, we also need to show our patients they can choose the lowest cost. Can you talk about the shoppable prices we have that brings more transparency to our patients?
Nakesha Muldrow: I'm preparing to have some work done in my home, and I could not have imagined starting that work without obtaining at least three estimates and also doing some research on the companies. We want to provide our patients with that same level of transparency, starting with our most common procedures and services. So patients can compare the WellSpan price to other healthcare organizations. We're continually researching competitor pricing and consulting with our physicians to determine what services are appropriate. We're growing to include bundle services and our employer and payer partners on procedures like hip and knee replacements, bariatric surgery, and maternity care. And I believe we've taken a very competitive approach to pricing and sharing this with our patients, allows them to choose the lowest cost and the highest quality, that's WellSpan.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: Yes, I know this was done with a lot of research and comparing data to our competitors, but more than being competitive, it's important we listen to our patients and consumers. We need to help them navigate the financial journey every step of the way when patients know that they need a certain procedure, they also have to determine what their out of pocket expenses will be. And this can be really challenging depending on their insurance coverage, deductibles and a number of other factors. I'm really excited about the cost estimator tool that we launched this summer.
Nakesha Muldrow: Yes, I'm really excited as well. It's such a great tool for those listening, please check it out in your, My WellSpan patient portal or on our website. Consumers can make more informed healthcare choices by obtaining in advance, out of pocket cost estimates for more than 90 tests and procedures. When we increase price transparency, along with market competitive pricing, we're offering a better experience as patients seek to understand their costs and make decisions about healthcare.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: That's right. Nakesha, part of our vision is to be a trusted partner and inspire health. And whether we like it or not cost is a huge piece of health. We have many programs like financial assistance that remove financial barriers for care, but even those who have the means to pay for their care deserve to know the value of they're going to be getting for the dollars spent on healthcare.
Nakesha Muldrow: Yeah, too often, we do every piece of the equation, right? But a patient's experience with billing or financial constraints can color their perspective of their interactions with us to be a trusted partner. We need to do everything we can to simplify their experience and provide them with the highest value.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: Well, that brings us to our last point of an exciting new tool coming this Fall called, Visit Pay. Can you tell us more about it, Nakesha?
Nakesha Muldrow: Yes. Another great software tool that will be launched as part of our strategy to improve the patient financial journey. It creates an integrated healthcare billing experience for patients while also improving our efficiency, Visit Pay offers an easy to read online statement accessible from our desktop and mobile devices and ability to view increased detail about recent medical visits and services. And the one I liked the best is the option to establish a flexible monthly payment plan. That'll be really convenient for our patients and also a seamless integration with the patient's other healthcare portals.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: What a perfect example of customizing the experience. And it creates value on our end as well. It's definitely a win win. We'll look forward to that in the coming months. So Nakesha, as we think about our 2025 strategy and our focus on creating the best experiences, highest quality and most affordable costs, the patient financial journey is certainly one we can appreciate. You and your team and the entire finance function have shown. When we apply an innovation mindset to our value journey, we can improve the patient experience and ultimately keep people healthier.
Nakesha Muldrow: Yes, I think that's, what's so gratifying about this work. We know that these efforts will help our communities get the care they need because they know how much it will cost. And they know WellSpan is a trusted partner. We're making people healthier through easier to use touch points.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: Well said. What advice would you give to our team members listening as they consider how to make WellSpan easier to use in their own areas?
Nakesha Muldrow: I would say, listen, innovate, and duplicate. We need to listen. Always listen to our patients and consumers, innovate continually find a better way. Duplicate by spreading it amongst our teams throughout our departments and across the organization. We're all on this journey together. And when we work as one to find a better way, we'll provide greater care for our communities.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: I agree, it's easier said than done, but each of our team members knows their area best. And when all of our 20,000 team members are seeking to make, well-spent easier to use, we'll succeed in re-imagining healthcare in inspiring health. Let's recap, our deep dive on the patient financial journey. We're constantly challenging ourselves to innovate and make it easier for patients to choose WellSpan. We've introduced three great ways to simplify the experience through shoppable competitive prices, a price estimator tool, and customized billing solutions. And it takes each of us and all of us to seek out areas to improve. So we can be a trusted partner. Thank you for joining me today Nakesha I really appreciate you being here.
Nakesha Muldrow: Thank you, Roxanna. And once again, thanks for the invite to talk about this exciting journey.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: That's all the time we have for today. We hope you'll join us for the next episode of Inspiring Health.
Michael Carrese: You're listening to Inspiring Health with Dr. Roxanna Gapstur, President and CEO of WellSpan Health. As she hosts candid conversations about organizational, culture, value and other pressing issues we face in healthcare and business today.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: When it comes to making care simpler, we're constantly challenging ourselves to innovate and make it easier for patients to choose WellSpan. One of the ways we're delivering on this commitment is by providing greater price, transparency, and affordability to consumers. As users of healthcare services ourselves, we all know how difficult it can be to navigate cost estimates, billing statements, health insurance plans, financial assistance. So today we'll cover three areas where WellSpan is focusing on making big strides to improve the patient financial journey, a shoppable list of services with market competitive prices, our new online Epic price estimator tool, and Visit Pay a new software tool coming soon to improve patient experience and efficiency. Joining me today is Nakesha Muldrow our Vice President of Finance for Access and Scheduling. She's responsible for WellSpan's efforts to improve patient satisfaction and also to enhance the overall experience of registration, scheduling and insurance. Nakesha welcome.
Nakesha Muldrow: Thank you, Roxana. Thanks for the invite.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: Nakesha let's start by talking about your background in registration and access. While this might seem like a behind the scenes detail, it is actually the key to unlocking so many preferences about our patients. How does this touch point in the system support our goals to truly listen to our patients and consumers?
Nakesha Muldrow: Well, Roxanna since I've been with WellSpan for about 14 years now I've worked under finance in different areas of patient access. I think that over that period of time the team has shifted from being seen as a point of data and billing collection to an important component of the patient experience. Every interaction is an opportunity to listen and learn from pre-service phone interactions, to point of service support, and the payment of patient bills. I think we are well positioned to hear the patient and to respond promptly whenever we're able.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: Affordability and price transparency are two big challenges that all healthcare organizations face, as we work here at WellSpan to make care more affordable, we also need to show our patients they can choose the lowest cost. Can you talk about the shoppable prices we have that brings more transparency to our patients?
Nakesha Muldrow: I'm preparing to have some work done in my home, and I could not have imagined starting that work without obtaining at least three estimates and also doing some research on the companies. We want to provide our patients with that same level of transparency, starting with our most common procedures and services. So patients can compare the WellSpan price to other healthcare organizations. We're continually researching competitor pricing and consulting with our physicians to determine what services are appropriate. We're growing to include bundle services and our employer and payer partners on procedures like hip and knee replacements, bariatric surgery, and maternity care. And I believe we've taken a very competitive approach to pricing and sharing this with our patients, allows them to choose the lowest cost and the highest quality, that's WellSpan.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: Yes, I know this was done with a lot of research and comparing data to our competitors, but more than being competitive, it's important we listen to our patients and consumers. We need to help them navigate the financial journey every step of the way when patients know that they need a certain procedure, they also have to determine what their out of pocket expenses will be. And this can be really challenging depending on their insurance coverage, deductibles and a number of other factors. I'm really excited about the cost estimator tool that we launched this summer.
Nakesha Muldrow: Yes, I'm really excited as well. It's such a great tool for those listening, please check it out in your, My WellSpan patient portal or on our website. Consumers can make more informed healthcare choices by obtaining in advance, out of pocket cost estimates for more than 90 tests and procedures. When we increase price transparency, along with market competitive pricing, we're offering a better experience as patients seek to understand their costs and make decisions about healthcare.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: That's right. Nakesha, part of our vision is to be a trusted partner and inspire health. And whether we like it or not cost is a huge piece of health. We have many programs like financial assistance that remove financial barriers for care, but even those who have the means to pay for their care deserve to know the value of they're going to be getting for the dollars spent on healthcare.
Nakesha Muldrow: Yeah, too often, we do every piece of the equation, right? But a patient's experience with billing or financial constraints can color their perspective of their interactions with us to be a trusted partner. We need to do everything we can to simplify their experience and provide them with the highest value.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: Well, that brings us to our last point of an exciting new tool coming this Fall called, Visit Pay. Can you tell us more about it, Nakesha?
Nakesha Muldrow: Yes. Another great software tool that will be launched as part of our strategy to improve the patient financial journey. It creates an integrated healthcare billing experience for patients while also improving our efficiency, Visit Pay offers an easy to read online statement accessible from our desktop and mobile devices and ability to view increased detail about recent medical visits and services. And the one I liked the best is the option to establish a flexible monthly payment plan. That'll be really convenient for our patients and also a seamless integration with the patient's other healthcare portals.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: What a perfect example of customizing the experience. And it creates value on our end as well. It's definitely a win win. We'll look forward to that in the coming months. So Nakesha, as we think about our 2025 strategy and our focus on creating the best experiences, highest quality and most affordable costs, the patient financial journey is certainly one we can appreciate. You and your team and the entire finance function have shown. When we apply an innovation mindset to our value journey, we can improve the patient experience and ultimately keep people healthier.
Nakesha Muldrow: Yes, I think that's, what's so gratifying about this work. We know that these efforts will help our communities get the care they need because they know how much it will cost. And they know WellSpan is a trusted partner. We're making people healthier through easier to use touch points.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: Well said. What advice would you give to our team members listening as they consider how to make WellSpan easier to use in their own areas?
Nakesha Muldrow: I would say, listen, innovate, and duplicate. We need to listen. Always listen to our patients and consumers, innovate continually find a better way. Duplicate by spreading it amongst our teams throughout our departments and across the organization. We're all on this journey together. And when we work as one to find a better way, we'll provide greater care for our communities.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: I agree, it's easier said than done, but each of our team members knows their area best. And when all of our 20,000 team members are seeking to make, well-spent easier to use, we'll succeed in re-imagining healthcare in inspiring health. Let's recap, our deep dive on the patient financial journey. We're constantly challenging ourselves to innovate and make it easier for patients to choose WellSpan. We've introduced three great ways to simplify the experience through shoppable competitive prices, a price estimator tool, and customized billing solutions. And it takes each of us and all of us to seek out areas to improve. So we can be a trusted partner. Thank you for joining me today Nakesha I really appreciate you being here.
Nakesha Muldrow: Thank you, Roxanna. And once again, thanks for the invite to talk about this exciting journey.
Dr. Roxanna Gapstur: That's all the time we have for today. We hope you'll join us for the next episode of Inspiring Health.