HFMA Releases Proposed Guidelines for Patient Financial Interactions

The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) has announced the release of a draft of new best practices that will bring more consistency, clarity, and transparency to patient financial interactions.

The guidelines were released during ANI: The Healthcare Finance Conference on June 16 in Orlando, Fla. The proposed best practices were created by a steering committee that met monthly over the past year and included leaders from HFMA, the National Patient Advocate Foundation, the American Hospital Association, Harvard Medical School, and America’s Health Insurance Plans, among others.

The proposed best practices focus on financial interactions when medical services are scheduled as well as when emergency and non-emergency care is delivered. These practices provide guidance regarding when and how communication should take place about patient insurance coverage, financial counseling, patient financial responsibility for service, and any existing balance the patient may have. The best practices emphasize open and early communication, the sharing of clear information, and the identification of a path for financial resolution that is fair for patients and health care organizations alike.

The draft of Patient Financial Interaction (PFI) best practices can be viewed online, where comments on the proposed best practices may be submitted through July 31. Patient feedback also will be solicited in the coming months. The resulting final practices will be released in the fall for voluntary adoption by health care organizations across the country.