Jessica Cruz, Founding Member at Med-Rok Systems Inc. pitches AdmitScan at Converge2Xcelerate Conference (Boston, MA)
(ESG News) – What if a gym allowed you to exercise for three days, only to later tell you that, in fact, you aren’t a member, saying “‘And we charge $3,000 a day to workout,’ handing you a $9,000 bill?”
That analogy, presented by Jessica Cruz of Med-Rok, is essentially what surprise billing in healthcare involves. She said surprise billing, which affects 55 million Americans and is the country’s leading cause of consumer bankruptcy, is when a “healthcare consumer unknowingly uses healthcare services that are not in-network or covered by their insurance, and then they are billed hundreds of thousands of dollars for using these out-of-network services.”
Cruz presented a pitch for Med-Rok’s AdmitScan service during the Converge2Xcelerate conference held in Boston and filmed live by the Traders Network Show, hosted by Matt Bird.
Surprise billing happens because the industry relies on insurance cards that provide no real-time value, while still requiring hospitals and physicians to verify coverage via fax and telephone—a cumbersome process that can take days, Cruz said.
AdmitScan solves this problem by using a QR code to instantly call up a patient’s network coverage, primary care physician, and recent emergency room visits, Cruz said. It also allows for automated repatriation so patients who find themselves in an out-of-network doctor’s office can efficiently track down an in-network facility, she added.
Cruz said hospitals and insurers could adopt the service for minimal fees, saving major administrative costs in the long run.