Text-to-Pay for GE Centricity: Faster Collections With Curogram

Your billing team spends hours calling patients about unpaid balances. Paper statements cost your organization thousands monthly. Meanwhile, accounts receivable days keep climbing across all your locations.

If you run a multi-location specialty or radiology clinic using GE Centricity, these challenges feel familiar. Imaging procedures, technical fees, and complex specialty charges create billing confusion. Patients don't understand what they owe. Your staff wastes time explaining charges and chasing payments.

The problem multiplies across multiple sites. Different locations use different payment workflows. One site calls patients while another mails statements. This inconsistency frustrates patients and reduces collection rates organization-wide.

GE Centricity handles scheduling and billing visibility well. But it doesn't offer a built-in, text-based payment workflow. Your revenue cycle team needs a faster way to collect patient payments without adding staff.

Text-to-Pay for GE Centricity solves this problem. This automated solution sends secure payment requests directly to patients via SMS. Patients can pay immediately on their phones. No calls, no stamps, no confusion.

The system connects to your Centricity appointment data. Payment requests go out automatically based on visit type. Pre-visit co-pay reminders arrive before imaging appointments. Post-visit balance notifications follow specialty procedures. Everything happens without manual work from your billing staff.

Enterprise specialty clinics using this solution see dramatic improvements. Payment turnaround drops from weeks to days. Staff spend less time on collection calls. A/R days decrease month after month. Most importantly, your revenue cycle becomes more efficient without hiring additional staff.

Why GE Centricity Clinics Need a Modern Text-to-Pay Solution

Healthcare payment collection faces mounting pressure across specialty and radiology clinics. Patient responsibility amounts continue rising as high-deductible plans become standard. Your billing team manages increasingly complex charges while patients struggle to understand what they owe.

Radiology billing creates unique patient confusion:

• Technical fees, professional fees, contrast charges, and facility costs for a single MRI
• Multiple bills arriving for one imaging procedure
• Patients expecting $50 co-pays but receiving $800 balance statements
• Delayed payments when patients don't understand the charges

Traditional paper statements fail to address these challenges. Statements arrive weeks after appointments when patients barely remember the visit. Many never open medical mail. Your billing team spends hours making collection calls that reach voicemail.

Multi-location specialty clinics face amplified problems. Different sites use different payment workflows. Your cardiology location calls patients. Your imaging center sends emails. Your orthopedic clinic mails statements. This inconsistency confuses patients and reduces collection rates organization-wide.

GE Centricity provides excellent scheduling and billing visibility but lacks a built-in, text-based payment workflow. Your revenue cycle staff needs modern tools to collect payments efficiently. Manual processes can't scale as your organization grows.

Staff workload becomes unsustainable under traditional methods. Billing team members spend entire days calling patients about balances. They leave countless voicemails and explain the same imaging charges repeatedly. This manual work prevents more valuable revenue cycle activities.

Enterprise compliance requirements add complexity:

• Payment communication must be HIPAA-safe
• Credit card processing needs PCI compliance
• Traditional methods meet requirements but lack efficiency

Modern patients expect modern payment options. They text for banking and retail purchases daily. Medical payments should work the same way. Text-to-Pay for GE Centricity provides automated, secure payment requests via SMS. Patients receive clear information and can pay immediately without calls or confusion.

How Slow Payment Processes Impact Revenue Cycle Performance

Slow payment collection creates cascading problems across your entire revenue cycle. The impact extends far beyond delayed cash flow.

Extended A/R days create financial problems:

• High accounts receivable signals weak collection processes to lenders
• Affects credit terms and investment capital opportunities
• Financial institutions view long A/R cycles as operational red flags

Unpaid balances accumulate rapidly in specialty and radiology practices. A single MRI patient might owe $800. A cardiac stress test generates $650 in patient responsibility. When hundreds of these amounts sit unpaid for months, total accounts receivable grows to hundreds of thousands of dollars. This tied-up capital limits operational flexibility significantly.

Cash flow constraints force difficult decisions. You need consistent revenue to pay billing staff, maintain imaging equipment, and cover facility costs across multiple locations. Delayed payments force credit line usage for operational expenses. Equipment upgrades get deferred. Strategic growth initiatives stall.

Administrative workload multiplies under manual processes:

• Billing staff track every outstanding balance across all locations
• Staff create call lists, send statements, and follow up repeatedly
• Manual work consumes hours daily that could support revenue cycle activities
• Workload becomes unsustainable as patient volumes grow

Billing errors become more frequent under manual collection. Staff call patients about outdated balances. Paper statements contain incorrect amounts after insurance adjustments. Multiple bills go out for the same procedure when systems aren't synchronized. These mistakes frustrate patients and damage organizational trust.

Patient confusion over specialty charges hurts collections. Receiving delayed statements or separate bills for technical, professional, and facility fees makes it unclear what to pay first, creating barriers to timely payment.

Collection costs rise dramatically as accounts age:

• Fresh balances under 30 days respond to simple reminders
• Balances over 90 days require intensive phone follow-up
• Accounts over 120 days often go to collection agencies charging 30-40% fees
• Prevention through faster initial collection costs far less

Multi-location organizations face bigger challenges. Slow payment processes at each site add up, reporting becomes inconsistent, and revenue cycle directors lack reliable data. Manual workflows also increase compliance risks, including potential HIPAA violations and audit issues.

How Curogram's Text-to-Pay Integrates With GE Centricity Workflows

The integration between Curogram's Text-to-Pay and GE Centricity creates a seamless payment collection system. Your existing workflows remain intact while gaining powerful automation.

How the integration works:

• Curogram connects directly to Centricity appointment and billing data
• System monitors schedules and patient accounts automatically
• Payment requests generate and send without staff intervention
• Everything runs based on rules you set during initial configuration

The process starts when a patient schedules an appointment. Centricity records appointment type, date, time, and expected charges. Curogram recognizes appointments requiring payment and creates message triggers automatically.

Pre-appointment payment requests work well for specialty procedures. A patient books diagnostic imaging for Tuesday. Two days before the visit, they receive a text with their co-pay amount and a secure payment link taking 30 seconds to complete.

Post-visit balance collection follows a similar pattern. After the appointment, Centricity updates the account with actual charges. Once the patient portion is determined after insurance processing, Curogram sends a balance notification automatically.

Message timing significantly impacts results:

• Patients most likely pay within 24-48 hours of balance notification
• Curogram sends messages during this optimal window
• Payment rates increase compared to statements arriving weeks later

Payment requests include clear, specific information. The message states the exact amount owed and which appointment it relates to. Patients click the payment link, enter their payment method, and confirm. The entire transaction completes on their phone.

Security remains paramount throughout. Curogram uses HIPAA-compliant messaging systems protecting patient information. Payment processing meets PCI compliance standards through trusted partners. Your clinic and patients both benefit from enterprise-level security.

Automated features reduce staff burden:

• Balance reminders send automatically if patients don't pay within set timeframes
• System tracks all payment activity and updates Centricity
• Front desk sees payment status in real-time without checking multiple systems
• Multi-location clinics gain consistency with identical messages across all sites

Customization options let you tailor messages for different scenarios. Pre-visit co-pay requests use different wording than post-visit balance notifications. High-dollar amounts trigger different messaging than routine charges. You control tone and content based on your patient population.

The integration handles various appointment types intelligently. Quick office visits generate different payment workflows than complex imaging procedures. Same-day appointments trigger immediate co-pay requests. Scheduled procedures weeks away allow earlier payment communication.

Implementation and maintenance remain simple:

• Technical team configures connection between Curogram and Centricity
• You define message templates and timing rules
• Testing ensures everything works correctly
• Go live with immediate benefits to payment collection
• Ongoing maintenance is minimal with system running automatically

Key Benefits for Multi-Location Clinics Using GE Centricity

Multi-location clinics face unique challenges that Text-to-Pay in GE Centricity addresses directly. Standardizing payment collection across multiple sites delivers consistent results while reducing complexity. Your entire organization benefits from unified billing communication.

Faster payments improve cash flow across all locations simultaneously. Each site experiences reduced A/R days as patients pay within days instead of weeks. This collective improvement transforms your overall financial position. Strong cash flow at every location creates organizational stability.

Reduced billing phone calls free up staff at every office. Front desk teams handle fewer collection conversations daily. This time gets redirected to patient care, scheduling, and other valuable activities. Productivity gains multiply across your entire network.

Lower mail costs add up significantly for multi-site operations. Each location sends fewer paper statements monthly. Postage, printing, and envelope expenses decrease. These savings grow larger as you add locations or serve more patients.

Payment accuracy improves when messages come directly from your billing system. The amounts in text messages match your records exactly. Patients don't receive outdated or incorrect balance information. This accuracy prevents confusion and speeds up payment.

Better patient financial experience strengthens your brand. Patients appreciate convenient payment options wherever they visit. Consistent communication across locations builds trust. People know what to expect from your billing process.

Use Cases for Specialty and Radiology Clinics

Co-pay collection prior to imaging appointments

Imaging appointments benefit from advance co-pay collection. A patient schedules a diagnostic MRI for Friday morning. Two days before the visit, they receive a text with their $75 co-pay request and secure payment link. They pay in under 30 seconds. Friday check-in becomes seamless with payment already complete.

Post-visit balance collection for high-cost procedures

Complex specialty procedures can result in large patient balances. For example, a radiology patient may owe $850 after a CT scan. Within 48 hours of insurance processing, they receive a text with a detailed breakdown, encouraging prompt payment while the procedure is still fresh in their mind.

Multi-stage payments for complex specialty services

Specialty clinics with multiple-visit treatments can use Text-to-Pay for staged payments. After each session, patients get a text with that visit’s balance, reducing confusion and improving payment compliance.

Payment reminders tied to visit types

Different appointment types in GE Centricity trigger tailored payment workflows. Patients receive co-pay or fee details specific to their procedure, ensuring clear, relevant information.

Why Curogram Is the Best Text-to-Pay Solution for GE Centricity Clinics

Curogram delivers comprehensive text-to-pay specifically designed for multi-location specialty and radiology clinics using GE Centricity.

EMR-aligned automation works seamlessly within your existing Centricity environment. The platform connects directly to Centricity appointment and billing data. Payment requests generate automatically based on appointment type. Your billing staff continues using Centricity exactly as before with no duplicate data entry or separate systems to manage.

Enterprise scalability supports organizations managing thousands of monthly patient visits across multiple locations. The solution handles high message volumes without performance issues. Adding new specialty clinics or imaging centers takes minimal effort. Your payment collection capability grows with your organization.

Multi-location billing standardization solves critical enterprise challenges. Every site sends identical payment messages for the same appointment types. Patients experience consistent billing across all locations. This standardization reduces confusion, strengthens your organizational brand, and improves collection rates network-wide.

Simple patient experience removes payment barriers. Patients receive clear text messages with secure, one-click payment links. No app downloads or account creation required. They tap the link, enter payment information, and confirm.

Integrated communication flows create superior patient experiences. Curogram handles appointment reminders, payment requests, and billing questions through the same HIPAA-compliant platform. Your staff manages all patient communication through a single system, further improving efficiency.

Conclusion

Your specialty or radiology clinic deserves better payment collection results. Traditional methods can't keep up with today's patient responsibility amounts and expectations. Text-to-Pay in GE Centricity offers a proven solution.

The benefits start immediately after implementation. Patients begin receiving payment requests through text messages. They pay faster because the process is convenient. Your A/R days decrease within the first month.

Staff appreciate the reduced workload. Phone calls about payments drop dramatically. Automated reminders handle follow-up. Your team can focus on patient care instead of chasing balances.

Multi-location practices gain consistency across all sites. Every patient receives the same professional payment communication. This standardization strengthens your brand and improves collection rates organization-wide.

The technology integrates seamlessly with your existing GE Centricity workflows. Implementation takes weeks, not months. Your front desk continues working exactly as before. The automation simply makes their job easier.

Security and compliance protections give you peace of mind. HIPAA-compliant messaging and PCI-compliant payment processing protect your patients and your practice. You can collect payments confidently.

Ready to transform your payment collection process?  Book a demo to see Curogram and GE Centricity working together. 

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