Highlights from CareCredit CEO, Beto Casellas' feature in Becker's Hospital Review on healthcare consumerism

The retail industry has long understood the importance of improving the customer journey and exceeding consumers rising expectations. With the increasing number of high deductible health plans and rising out-of-pocket costs, it’s imperative that healthcare organizations shift their focus to patients as consumers.

Beto Casellas, CEO of CareCredit, was recently featured in Becker’s Hospital Review to discuss how healthcare organizations can succeed in today's consumer-driven environment.

He stressed that while patients of all generations want to be heard and understood, healthcare organization’s goals must also be aligned with the personal preferences of healthcare consumers.

Highlights of his interview include:

Healthcare cost transparency is key

Billing departments should be up-front about costs and billing procedures and should play an active role in helping patients finance their care.

Better understanding of patients as consumers

It’s important to understand patient demographics on how generational differences may affect consumers’ expectations.

How do healthcare providers measure success?

Encouraging patients to leave online reviews and developing loyalty programs with benefits are two ways to give patients a voice and encourage long-term engagement.

The CareCredit credit card can help support healthcare consumerism

The average annual deductible for individual, employer-sponsored coverage is up more than 114 percent since 2008, which means patients are faced with higher out-of-pocket costs.¹ This means people may be more likely to shop around for care, or even delay or decline care because of the financial burden. Providing new options to pay for care is the consumer-focused thing to do. When patients are presented with choices, they feel more in control of their finances and wellbeing.

Providers who implement solutions like CareCredit have an opportunity to make a positive impact on the patient financial experience. In fact, in a survey of enrolled providers, 90 percent of them said CareCredit had a positive impact on patient satisfaction.² CareCredit can empower patients by allowing them to budget more effectively and avoid paying a big healthcare bill all at once. Promotional financing enables patients to move forward with care sooner because they can make monthly payments over time.*