For medical practice administrators, investing in new healthcare technology during uncertain economic times can be challenging. Whether it’s due to ongoing Medicare payment cuts, telehealth flexibilities that end on March 31, 2025, the removal of medical debt from consumer credit reports, or rising costs, hesitation to make a financial commitment amid patient collection challenges and reduced reimbursement is understandable. Once the decision to invest is made, selecting the appropriate option and partnering with the right vendor can also present difficulties.
In this post, we provide six technologies designed to help medical practices navigate financial uncertainties and seven questions to consider before investing.
1. Patient billing and payment support platforms.
Providing personalized patient billing helps ensure your medical practice can weather the storm of uncertainty related to high deductibles and the removal of medical debt from consumer credit reports—a move some experts say may cause unintended negative consequences in terms of self-pay patient billing and collections. Personalized and empathic billing support includes digital payment portals, automated payment plans and early-out billing, real-time chat for billing-related inquiries, and text/email billing reminders to improve collections. Any technology that makes it easy for patients to pay on their terms and ask questions for clarification will be a worthwhile investment in the months ahead as medical practices look for innovative ways to nurture meaningful and lasting patient relationships.2. Contract management software.
As medical practices continue to straddle the line between fee-for-service and value-based contracts, this technology helps track payer agreements, reimbursement rates, and negotiation opportunities. Leveraging it to identify underpayments can also be highly beneficial because it prevents practices from leaving money on the table.3. Supply chain and inventory management systems.
As medical practices face rising costs and potential supply shortages amidst ongoing tariffs, this technology helps optimize ordering and prevent waste. It will play a critical role in any medical practice cost-reduction strategy.
4. Cloud-based electronic health record.
The electronic health record is the foundation of any medical practice, and leveraging a cloud-based solution helps increase efficiency, compliance, and accessibility while reducing information technology overhead. Other benefits of cloud-based technology include the ability to scale effectively, improved security, and automatic updates and upgrades. As medical practices consider mergers, acquisitions, and other strategies to promote financial sustainability, a cloud-based electronic health record will be paramount.
5. Predictive analytics and artificial intelligence (AI).
This technology uses data-driven insights to forecast revenue trends, identify financial risks, and optimize patient collections. As payers continue to ramp up their use of predictive analytics and AI, medical practices must do the same so they can focus on up-front error resolution and denial prevention. The risk in not leveraging this technology in the revenue cycle? Increased denials and the potential for audits and costly recoupments moving forward.
6. Telehealth.
While there’s quite a bit of uncertainty regarding telehealth coverage post March 31, 2025, the reality is that the healthcare industry continues to move toward healthcare at home. This technology helps medical practices expand revenue streams and patient access through virtual consultations and remote patient monitoring services.
Questions to consider
Before purchasing any new healthcare technology, it’s important to ask these questions:
- Does the vendor align with our core mission and values? And can it help us promote brand awareness?
- How will we measure return on investment (ROI)? What is the hard (quantifiable) versus soft (intangible) ROI?
- What are industry peers using, and what has been their experience?
- What are our strategic goals? And what technology (or technologies) will help us achieve those goals?
- What is the total cost of ownership, including purchase, implementation, maintenance, and training?
- Will this technology improve the patient experience—particularly the patient financial experience—either directly or indirectly in some way? How might it impact patient billing and collections?
- Will this technology increase our competitive advantage?
Putting patients first
Any of the technologies listed in this article can help medical practices navigate uncertain times, and ideally, providers would be able to invest in all of them. However, with limited budgets, it may be best to focus on those with a direct impact on the patient financial experience, including patient billing and collections. Why? Any technology designed to improve the patient financial experience and provide a patient-friendly billing experience will be universally advantageous regardless of medical practice size or specialty. Learn how Inbox Health can transform patient financial engagement and help your business thrive.
About the author
Lisa A. Eramo, MA is a freelance healthcare writer who specializes in healthcare reimbursement, health information management, value-based care, and patient engagement. She contributes bylined articles to various healthcare trade publications and also assists clients with healthcare content marketing. You can reach her at lisa@lisaeramo.com or by visiting www.lisaeramo.com.