Avoid postal delays with paperless claims and statements
The U.S. Postal Service is experiencing delays in mail delivery across the country. At the same time, Americans everywhere especially vulnerable populations, such as elderly people and those living with comorbidities are being asked to stay home. As a result, many of your patients have very real anxiety over when (or whether) they’ll receive their medications.
According to a recent article from NPR, Nationally, an Ipsos poll found that 1 in 5 Americans got medication through the mail in the past week, and 1 in 4 of them experienced a delay or nondelivery.1 And patients aren’t the only ones impacted by lagging deliveries. Commercial and private mail services have been affected, creating concerns for small and medium-sized businesses that rely on mail delivery services.2
If your organization relies on paper claims submissions and patient statements, you could be facing longer A/R days and more work resubmitting lost claims. Likewise, with delivery delays, paper statements and bills may not reach patients in a timely manner, making it more difficult to capture patient payments.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has told the U.S. Senate that the Postal Service will not implement any changes in service until after the election.1 This could mean that more delays are on the horizon. Even if you have not yet experienced issues with lost or late mail, upcoming changes to U.S. Postal Service delivery programs may lead to more delivery issues in the coming months.
So, what can you do? Instead of bracing yourself for longer days in A/R, why not take advantage of this time to go paperless? With the right technology, you can:
- Give patients the option to receive their statements online via email
- Electronically upload claims attachments
- Submit claims online instead of by mail
Want to learn more about applications that can help you accelerate A/R and avoid postal delays? Read aboutABILITY CHOICE All-Payer ClaimsandABILITY EASE All-Payer, orrequest a demotoday.
Sources:
- Postal Service Slowdowns Cause Dangerous Delays In Medication Delivery, Paige Pfleger, NPR, August 25, 2020. Accessed September 10, 2020, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/08/25/905666119/postal-service-slowdowns-cause-dangerous-delays-in-medication-delivery
- Are postal service delays hampering small business? KTTN News, August 13, 2020. Accessed September 10, 2020, https://www.kttn.com/are-postal-service-delays-hampering-small-business/
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