Expanding Payment Options in Your Medical Practice: Why It Matters

If you own or operate a private medical practice, offering a variety of payment methods can enhance patient satisfaction, improve cash flow, and streamline operations. In today’s healthcare environment, giving your patients flexible, convenient payment options is a must. Here are some different methods of payment you could consider and the reasons why offering these options can help your practice:

Payment Methods

1. Credit and Debit Cards

• Why: Credit/debit cards are widely used and tend to be the most convenient for patients. They also offer quick, secure payments.
• Benefits: Immediate payment, reduced risk of non-payment, and ease of record-keeping.
  ‍

2. Mobile Payments (Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Samsung Pay)

• Why: Mobile payments are increasing in popularity, especially amongst younger patients. They allow quick, secure payments and can come in handy when a patient does not have his or her wallet.
• Benefits: Contactless payment option, enhanced patient experience, and lower risk of fraud.
  ‍

3. Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Cards

• Why: Many patients have HSA and FSA accounts to cover medical expenses.
• Benefits: Allows patients to use pre-tax dollars, making medical care more affordable for them.
  ‍

4. Online Payments via Patient Portal

• Why: Offering a payment option within a patient portal allows patients to access both medical information and payments in one location from your office or a remote location. This allows patients to submit payment on their own without any additional administrative tasks required.
• Benefits: Reduces administrative workload, encourages prompt payment, and improves patient engagement with the portal.
  ‍

5. Cash

• Why: Cash is still used by some patients who prefer traditional payment methods. If you implement a compliance surcharge fee in your medical practice, patients may also choose cash  to avoid a convenience fee. If you would like to learn more about compliance surcharge programs and how they can save your practice money, click here.
• Benefits: No transaction fees for cash payments, and accommodates all patient preferences.
  ‍

6. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and ACH Payments

• Why: EFT and ACH are a secure payment method for larger payments directly from a patient account.
• Benefits: Reduces processing fees compared to credit cards and ensures reliable recurring payments for ongoing treatments.
  ‍

7. Medical Credit Cards (e.g., CareCredit)

• Why: Medical credit cards are designed specifically for healthcare expenses. While not all patients have them, those that do are offered flexible payment plans, and your practice receives payment up front.
• Benefits: Immediate payment to the practice, while patients can pay over time, often with low or no interest options.

Reasons to Offer Multiple Payment Methods

Offering all of the payment options mentioned above can help to increase patient satisfaction and in turn, increase your payment collection and practice’s cashflow. Several of the options also exist to help ease the burden of medical payments on patients and can make working with your business more accessible. In addition, many of the above options reduce your practice’s administrative workload, helping to streamline operations.

Offering flexible and convenient payment options is not just a matter of staying competitive—it's about ensuring your patients have a seamless and stress-free experience every step of the way.

Making sure your business can accept all 8 different types of payment may seem complicated, but it doesn't have to be. If you are interested in offering more payment options in your practice without adding an administrative burden to your team, contact the Merchant Match team today. With just a short application, you can get started taking more payment methods in just a few business days! We are proud to serve many medical practices in the Raleigh Durham area and can’t wait to work with you today! Email info@merchantmatch.net to get started today.

‍