Thirlby Clinic Reports 18% Increase in Total Collections After Implementing eClinicalWorks and healow Payment Services
In a significant development for patient payment efficiency, Thirlby Clinic, a well-established internal and family medicine practice located in Traverse City, Michigan, has reported an 18% increase in total patient payment collections within the first quarter of integrating eClinicalWorks and healow Pay™. This achievement underscores the power of digital payment solutions in modern healthcare settings, offering both convenience for patients and efficiency for providers.
Thirlby Clinic has long been dedicated to providing quality, patient-centered medical services to the residents of Traverse City and surrounding areas. The clinic is recognized for its commitment to comprehensive care, offering same-day visits, pharmacist services, coordinated care management, and in-house laboratory services. As part of its mission to improve healthcare access and streamline operations, the clinic recently undertook an initiative to enhance its revenue-cycle management (RCM) system through the adoption of eClinicalWorks and its associated digital payment solutions.
Optimizing Revenue Cycle Management with eClinicalWorks
Thirlby Clinic’s decision to implement eClinicalWorks’ RCM solutions was driven by the need to improve billing workflows and enhance overall efficiency. The integration of healow Pay, healow Statements, and healow Text2Pay has significantly transformed the clinic’s payment collection process, ensuring a smoother and more effective billing experience for both patients and administrative staff.
According to Jamie Schichtel, Practice Manager at Thirlby Clinic, the implementation of healow Text2Pay has been particularly impactful. “We discovered that almost 40-50% of our patients were using credit cards for payments, making healow Text2Pay an appealing option. This change has provided many of our patients with more options to securely pay right away through text, saving us a significant amount of money on paper statements and follow-ups,” said Schichtel. “eClinicalWorks prioritizes innovative technology and makes processes easier on patients and providers, alleviating stress and administrative burdens. Some of our providers have also started utilizing Sunoh.ai to streamline clinical documentation. Overall, we are happy with the positive impact healow and Sunoh have had on our practice.”
Digital Payment Solutions Enhancing Efficiency
healow Pay: Transforming Payment Collections
Since the implementation of healow Pay in March 2024, Thirlby Clinic has witnessed an 18% increase in total patient payment collections compared to the same period in the previous year. healow Pay provides an efficient and user-friendly online billing solution that allows patients to pay their medical bills via text, email, or an online portal. The system’s ease of use ensures timely payments, reducing outstanding balances and administrative follow-ups.
The benefits of healow Pay extend beyond just revenue collection. Patients have responded positively to the convenience of digital payment options, leading to increased engagement and satisfaction. The ability to pay medical bills promptly through text messaging or email links eliminates the need for cumbersome paper statements and long processing times. As a result, the clinic has significantly reduced costs related to mailing paper statements and managing payment follow-ups.
healow Text2Pay: Reducing Administrative Burden
The introduction of healow Text2Pay has revolutionized the way Thirlby Clinic manages patient billing. With nearly half of the clinic’s patients preferring to use credit cards for medical payments, the seamless integration of Text2Pay has offered an instant, secure, and hassle-free payment option. Patients receive a text message with a payment link, allowing them to settle their balances in real time without needing to log in to a separate portal or app.
This shift has resulted in faster payments and reduced the burden on front-desk staff, who previously had to manage payment reminders manually. By automating payment collection, Thirlby Clinic has minimized administrative overhead while maximizing efficiency.
AI-Driven Innovations: Sunoh.ai Enhancing Clinical Documentation
In addition to financial workflow improvements, Thirlby Clinic has embraced artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to enhance its clinical documentation processes. The implementation of Sunoh.ai, an AI-powered medical scribe, has streamlined how healthcare providers document patient interactions, reducing time spent on paperwork and improving the accuracy of medical records.
How Sunoh.ai Works
Sunoh.ai is designed to capture and summarize conversations between patients and healthcare providers, automatically generating structured clinical documentation. This AI-driven tool significantly reduces documentation errors, enhances efficiency, and allows medical professionals to focus more on patient care rather than administrative tasks.
With Sunoh.ai, Thirlby Clinic’s physicians can review and edit the AI-generated visit summaries before finalizing them, ensuring that all clinical notes are accurate and comprehensive. The time savings afforded by this technology allow healthcare providers to see more patients while maintaining high-quality medical records.
The Future of Healthcare Efficiency with eClinicalWorks
The success of Thirlby Clinic’s transition to digital payment solutions and AI-driven documentation underscores the broader industry shift toward technology-enabled healthcare. As more medical practices embrace digital innovations, the potential for improving both patient experiences and operational efficiency becomes increasingly evident.
Girish Navani, CEO and co-founder of eClinicalWorks, emphasized the company’s commitment to reducing administrative burdens for healthcare professionals. “At eClinicalWorks, we develop solutions to reduce the administrative burdens of medical professionals, allowing them to focus better on providing quality patient care. Solutions like healow Pay allow patients to conveniently pay any pending balance while assisting the healthcare practice to automate the task, ensuring timely payments and boosting revenue.”
Key Takeaways from Thirlby Clinic’s Success
The implementation of eClinicalWorks and healow solutions at Thirlby Clinic has yielded several notable benefits:
- Increased Revenue Collection: The clinic saw an 18% increase in total patient payment collections within the first quarter of adopting healow Pay and Text2Pay.
- Enhanced Patient Experience: Patients now have multiple convenient and secure payment options, improving overall satisfaction.
- Cost Savings: The reduction in paper statements and administrative follow-ups has led to financial savings for the clinic.
- Operational Efficiency: The adoption of AI medical scribe Sunoh.ai has minimized the time spent on clinical documentation, allowing providers to focus more on patient care.
- Streamlined Billing Workflows: Automation of payment collection has reduced the workload for front-desk staff, ensuring a more efficient process.
Expanding Digital Innovations in Healthcare
As Thirlby Clinic continues to refine its technological infrastructure, its success story serves as a model for other healthcare practices looking to optimize their revenue cycle management and patient engagement strategies. The integration of AI-powered documentation and digital payment solutions represents the future of efficient, patient-centered care.
With healthcare technology evolving rapidly, the ability to adopt and implement innovative solutions like eClinicalWorks and healow Pay will remain a critical factor in improving financial outcomes and patient experiences. For Thirlby Clinic, this transformation is just the beginning, paving the way for continued advancements in digital healthcare management.
