At the beginning of 2014, family physician Andy Pasternak’s two-physician practice braced for an influx of new patients. But while a few new patients who purchased insurance through the federal and state health insurance exchanges had trickled in by early March, new patient demand was far lower than what Pasternak expected.
“We had sort of been geared up for the large flood of people starting Jan. 1 because there was this whole, ‘Everybody’s going to get signed up and everybody’s going to have health insurance,’ and there was a lot of concern that there were people that maybe were going to have a lot of urgent needs,” says Pasternak, whose practice is located in Reno, Nev. “We’ve had some exchange patients, but it’s certainly not been the large overwhelming flood of patients that we were kind of concerned about.”
Pasternak is not alone in experiencing a slower than anticipated uptick in new patient demand. While several factors may be contributing, technical glitches in both the federal health insurance marketplace and state health insurance exchanges may be a key driver.
Still, by the deadline of March 31, just over 7 million Americans had signed up for health insurance plans via the exchanges, according to the Obama Administration; thanks to a surge in enrollment days before the end of the open enrollment period.
While it’s difficult to determine how this will affect your practice, it’s likely that many of you will begin encountering these new patients — and it’s smart to be prepared. And even if your practice does not experience a surge of new patients, brushing up on how you handle new patients is a smart move. As patient satisfaction plays a growing role in reimbursement, and as more payers ask patients to shoulder more of their healthcare costs, your new patient orientation policies and procedures should change accordingly. Here’s how to ensure that you are efficiently and effectively welcoming new patients to your practice.
Assess and update
Start by assessing whether your new patient orientation documents need to be updated or expanded. These documents should outline your practice’s basic policies — for example, how to schedule appointments, how to request prescription refills, and who to contact when questions arise, says Gail Levy, founder and president of The Levy Advantage consulting firm. They should also outline your practice’s payment policies, letting patients know if you require them to pay copays at time of service, how you handle past due balances, and so on, she says.
If your practice is encountering patients who are newly insured, consider adding a glossary of key health insurance terms to your new patient education materials. A December 2013 study published in Health Affairs found that fewer than 1 in 4 uninsured Americans understands key terms like deductibles, out-of-pocket spending caps, or provider networks. The more informed your patients are about how their insurance works, the easier it will be for your practice to collect what it is owed for services.
Distribute copies of patient orientation materials to your new patients by mail, e-mail, or in person, preferably prior to their first appointment, says Audrey “Christie” McLaughlin, of medical practice consulting firm McLaughlin Sales Group LLC. If you significantly updated these materials, distribute them to all of your patients at their next appointments. Also, post the materials on your website and/or your patient portal so they are readily accessible to patients, she says. “Now is the time, when you have this influx of new patients, to look back and review how you have been orienting new patients to the practice from the get go, and get that information out there.”

By: Aubrey Westgate

– Source: http://www.physicianspractice.com/medical-billing-collections/welcoming-newly-insured-patients-your-medical-practice#sthash.iPUQXiOk.dpuf