Cedar Intros Solution to Guide Patients Preparing for Healthcare

Healthcare financial technology platform Cedar has launched Cedar Pre, a solution designed to help patients preparing for care, according to a on Monday (March 7) press release.

Providers can personalize patient experiences across Cedar Pre’s end-to-end healthcare journey from pre-registration and intake through final payment. Almost one-third of people (32%) want a better understanding of what they owe before a procedure or visit, according to Cedar’s 2021 Healthcare Consumer Experience Study, but 40% say the information is hard to find or inaccurate.

“The healthcare financial burden for consumers has skyrocketed over the last decade, and consumers are shouldering more of the cost for care than ever before,” Florian Otto, CEO and co-founder of Cedar, said in the company announcement. “At the same time, the disjointed nature of the current pre-visit experience causes confusion and frustration for all parties.

“The fear and stress associated with medical bills can act as a deterrent for patients to get the care they need, especially when the process is cumbersome,” he said. “With Cedar Pre, we are proud to offer concierge-style guidance that helps patients access the quality care and user-friendly information they deserve. By fostering more transparency as early in the process as possible, patients are able to make informed decisions, enhancing their experience with their provider and improving health outcomes.”

Cedar Pre is part of the Cedar Suite, an end-to-end solution that brings together payer data and provider communications on one platform.

Related: Cedar, athenahealth Tackle Digital-Focused Healthcare Payments

In December, Cedar teamed up with athenahealth to make post-visit patient engagement and payment platform Cedar Pay available to healthcare providers through the athenahealth marketplace.

Cedar Pay uses insights from its interactions with more than 10 million patients that includes focused consumer testing, constant optimization and machine learning to send the appropriate communications and payment-related interventions to patients to encourage them to pay in full and on time.

Healthcare providers that have Cedar Pay as a payment option generally see a 30% increase in patient collections and 88% overall patient satisfaction as well as clients saying they would use the platform again, according to the 2020 KLAS Patient Financial Experience report.