Brad Garfield, managing director and head of medical solutions at JPMorgan Commercial Banking, said there are many opportunities to improve the user experience in the healthcare sector in the financial aspect.
A representative of the financial institution said that currently in the United States, many healthcare providers do not have websites for accepting online payments. This is a significant drawback in the era of large-scale digitalization. Currently, there is something like a technological transition of the financial services sector into the virtual space. The lack of online opportunities for transferring payments significantly complicates the user experience and reduces procedural efficiency when there are available tools to improve it.
Brad Garfield said that outdated mechanisms in the healthcare sector create inconvenience and slow down the payment process. The solution to the problem lies not only in digitizing payments but also in improving planning and registration, which will allow you to get more accurate estimates, collect payment information in advance, and offer payment transfer plans.
Against the background of the need to introduce digitalization in the medical services sector, one should not forget about the importance of solving problems related to fraud of a new generation. Brad Garfield talks about the prevalence of such a method of criminal activity as compromising business email. According to him, against the background of this threat, many companies have found an insufficient level of their own protection from fraudulent attacks.
In an effort to reduce the risk of criminal activity and in the context of efforts to improve the quality of customer service, organizations working in the health sector are increasingly using centralized payment processing. Also, these organizations use supplier catalogs for such purposes.
Brad Garfield says that technological transition is an option to solve the problem of fraud. According to him, digital technologies are the best opportunity to receive advance payment instructions from a supplier. He noted that due to compliance with payment terms and offers, it is possible to achieve a wider introduction of electronic payments and cards.
The advantage of centralization is that from the point of view of the financial interests of customers, servicing multiple channels and portals is an expensive solution in the long run. According to Brad Garfield, it makes no sense for large organizations to create a multi-channel infrastructure. He characterized decentralization in the context of this technological environment as portal fatigue.
A JPMorgan representative says that in the healthcare sector, from the point of view of the financial aspect of the existence of this sector of activity, the greatest problem for patients is the need for reimbursement of funds. More than 40% of consumers of medical services annually receive reimbursements, often associated with overpayment or a court decision on insurance. Against this background, the importance of integrating processes and creating a single interface in the entire healthcare system is becoming more acute.
Brad Garfield says that reimbursing patients as a kind of functional structure in need of improvement does not necessarily require the creation of a new widget for payment transactions or the introduction of methods for performing financial operations in real time. According to him, in this case, it is necessary to go back and change the whole process.
The cost of the refund is not included in the structure of the price of the payment itself. In this case, additional costs arise in the process of phone calls to customer support and may show intensive growth with unreliable information processing. The lack of HIPAA-compliant solutions for processing payment information is the reason for the loss of part of the working time of employees.
Brad Garfield says that in the healthcare sector, money back is a widespread problem. According to him, this procedural flaw is characteristic of both large hospital systems and small medical service providers, and the difference lies only in the scale of the impact of a technical flaw on the efficiency and speed of activity. He noted that it is important to take into account the context associated with the payment and find ways to increase its value.
A JPMorgan representative, reflecting on the future of the healthcare sector, announced the imminent formation of an environment in which service providers have fully implemented technologies. According to him, a way to improve the quality of service and interaction already exists, and one should only take advantage of the available opportunities.
As we have reported earlier, JPMorgan Starts Euro Blockchain Payments for Corporate Clients.
Serhii Mikhailov
Serhii’s track record of study and work spans six years at the Faculty of Philology and eight years in the media, during which he has developed a deep understanding of various aspects of the industry and honed his writing skills; his areas of expertise include fintech, payments, cryptocurrency, and financial services, and he is constantly keeping a close eye on the latest developments and innovations in these fields, as he believes that they will have a significant impact on the future direction of the economy as a whole.