Collecting Payments & Credit-Card-on-File: Klara’s New Interface with modmed® Pay

The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new gold standard in how medical practices operate. 

In the aftermath of shutdowns, increased telemedicine adoption, and contactless care strategies, patients and medical staff alike have become accustomed to more streamlined — and more convenient — intake and follow-up processes that happen digitally before and after their in-person or video visits. 

These days, more and more practices are collecting consent forms, insurance information, patient satisfaction surveys, and other relevant documentation through automated text messaging. But what about payments?

Despite more than 60% of patient payments being made online, credit card information continues to be collected over the phone and during in-office visits. Not only does this cause longer patient wait times, but it also adds more work for staff and leads to higher outstanding balances. 

And in the case that practices already use a digital payments solution, patients are directed to yet another place to log in, download an app, or create an account. Also, most payment experiences can be perceived as clunky and inconvenient. Poor patient experiences as well as siloed and fragmented patient engagement result in lower adoption, fewer credit cards on file, and more outstanding balances.

Fortunately, there is now an easier, more convenient, and more streamlined way to collect payments and credit card details digitally: Klara’s brand-new interface with modmed® Pay. Here’s how it works:‍

A simple payments solution from modmed® Pay and Klara

Klara has been helping many users of Modernizing Medicine (and other EHRs) to more efficiently communicate with their patients and streamline workflows associated with intake, appointment reminders, follow-up and more. Due to Klara’s ease of use and unrivaled 85% patient adoption, Klara already meets patients where they are, and these workflows simply work.

Now, users who are customers of both modmed® Practice Management and modmed® Pay can leverage Klara’s messaging platform to simplify patient billing in one place. Klara’s interface with modmed® Pay will allow you to:

• Collect patient credit card information through links sent via automated SMS. While messages offering the links are sent through Klara, all credit card information is end-to-end encrypted. Klara can send these messages offering links automatically before any appointment type you define, without any additional manual work needed.
• See available stored credentials for credit cards on file in Klara. Whether you collected the credit card via Klara or it has already been stored through modmed® Pay, you can see the stored credentials for any available credit card for the applicable patient within Klara. 
• Charge the patient using the stored credentials for a credit card from within Klara. You can charge any available credit card for the applicable patient right from within Klara and the charge will automatically show up in modmed® Practice Management.
• Send automated receipts to patients through Klara. Patients will conveniently receive PDF receipts via Klara. The receipts will show charge amounts and descriptions just like it comes from modmed® Pay. These receipts will be centralized to the same thread as other patient communications, allowing patients and staff to easily access from one place.
• … and this is only the beginning. More valuable features are coming soon!

Benefits of Klara’s interface with modmed® Pay

Klara’s interface with modmed® Pay is a game-changer for medical practices. Here’s why:

• Less outstanding balances. You’ll have more credit cards on file and therefore won’t have to chase after patients who need to pay their outstanding balances and have given their prior consent for balances to be charged. With a more than 85% patient adoption rate, Klara is an effective channel to interact with patients and collect many types of information. The same is true for payments and collecting credit card details.
• Time savings for administrative staff. Your staff won’t have to spend their time collecting credit card information over the phone or during in-person visits. Not to mention, they won’t have to play post-visit phone tag or create and send paper billing statements to settle outstanding balances for patients who have provided requisite consents. 
• Fewer no-shows. Collecting a patient’s credit card prior to their appointment is a proven way to reduce no-shows. We recommend combining this feature with Klara Assistant to automatically request payment information prior to their appointments.

Getting started: Are you eligible?

Klara’s interface with modmed® Pay is available to any Modernizing Medicine customers using both modmed® Practice Management and modmed® Pay. If you’re one of them, or if you’d like to be one of them, contact your Klara Account Manager or sign up for Klara today! We will get you started in no time and help you activate modmed® Pay if you are not yet using it. 

Stay tuned for more updates from Klara as we are already working on the next set of payments features to bring better patient experiences to you and your practice.