BETHLEHEM, Pa., May 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- St. Luke’s University Health Network has introduced a new bill pay system that offers patients the option to manage their finances digitally, including over their smartphones.

St. Luke’s new patient financial connection system, powered by Simplee, focuses on the entire patient experience. Now, from the moment patients schedule an appointment or visit a care center, they receive clear, upfront communications about their financial obligations online, via their smartphone – or if they prefer, through the mail or in-person.

During its first three months, the new patient financial connection system has led to a 41 percent increase in self-service payments by patients, with 40 percent of payments occurring via mobile device.

Importantly, the system has averaged a 4.5 out of 5 star satisfaction rating by patients. This has translated into a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 38 for the patient financial experience, more than double the national average for the healthcare industry and on par with major consumer brands.

“At St. Luke’s, we’re proud of our unwavering commitment to excellence in all things,” said Richard Madison, Vice President of Revenue Cycle & Business Office at St. Luke’s. “We realized medical bills and payments were sometimes complicated and added stress to a patient’s medical experience. Through this new system we have turned understanding and paying for a hospital bill into a fast, easy and convenient process.”

Designed around patients, the new patient financial connection system allows individuals to quickly and easily understand medical bills, choose flexible payment options and access financial support. Patients can also choose from multiple billing options, and even devise their own payment plans.

“Patients love this new way to understand and pay for services at St. Luke’s,” continued Madison. “They had told us they wanted greater transparency and a better bill pay experience, and their response to this new solution has been gratifying.”

The new patient financial connection system is offered across all St. Luke’s campuses. St. Luke’s joins a host of other innovative health systems using Simplee’s Platform for Patient Financial Care, including Northwestern Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Adventist Health System, and Memorial Hermann Health System.

Media Contact:
Sam Kennedy, Corporate Communications Director, 484-526-4134, samuel.kennedy@sluhn.org

About St. Luke’s
Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of 14,000 employees providing services at 10 hospitals and over 300 outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue of $1.9 billion, the Network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe and Schuylkill counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.  Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the region’s first and only regional medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 28 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 226 residents and fellows.  St. Luke’s is the only health care system in central-eastern Pennsylvania to earn Medicare’s five-star rating (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  St. Luke’s has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health (formerly Truven Health Analytics) repeatedly – six times total and four years in a row including 2018.  It has also been cited by IBM Watson Health as a 50 Top Cardiovascular Program.  Utilizing the EPIC electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.

About Simplee
Simplee, founder of the patient financial care movement, is healthcare’s leading technology platform for engaging patients and addressing affordability with personalized paths to payment.  Simplee’s platform, Peer Reviewed by HFMA, leverages information from billions of patient interactions and proprietary healthcare tuned algorithms to drive a recommendation engine for patient payments and engagement.  Lean more about how leading health systems leverage Simplee’s platform to reach higher levels of patient satisfaction and achieve better financial performance by visiting www.simplee.com or contacting info@simplee.com.