Springfield, OR – June 20, 2017 – HealthFirst Financial, a national leader in patient financing, has earned for the second time the prestigious Peer Review by HFMA designation, keeping the company on the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s Short List of “high value, high quality healthcare business solutions.”
The only patient financing firm to ever earn the HFMA Peer Review designation for its affordable financing programs, HealthFirst Financial first qualified in 2014 and spent this past year undergoing the rigorous process to renew it. Just one in three companies makes it through the process and on to HFMA’s Short List.
“We’re pleased to have HealthFirst Financial renew their HFMA Peer Reviewed designation,” says HFMA President and CEO Joseph J. Fifer, FHFMA, CPA. “The HFMA Peer Review process assures our members, through a rigorous evaluation, that the reviewed healthcare business solution meets an objective, third-party assessment of overall effectiveness, quality, and value."
HealthFirst Financial patient financing programs are available at more than 220 facilities across the United States, including Trinity Health System in 22 states. With payment programs offering no or low-interest credit lines up to 60 months, HealthFirst Financial makes it possible for patients to afford needed care without breaking their family budgets and for providers to receive immediate payment for their medical services, improving cash flow, revenues and liquidity.
Oregon-based HealthFirst Financial has funded nearly $350 million for medical care for hundreds of thousands of patients and collected more than 89.5% of all accounts referred while increasing patient satisfaction and loyalty:
- 96% of HealthFirst Financial account holders said they’d recommend the program to their family and friends
- 94% said the program made it more likely they would use the same provider for future medical needs
“The Peer Review by HFMA designation is an important seal of approval from the leading healthcare financial organization in our field,” said KaLynn Gates, President of HealthFirst Financial. “We really value the process, which is thoughtful and comprehensive. It gives significant weight to feedback from many clients and even goes a major step beyond that to gather information from companies that chose not to contract with us.”
How the HFMA process works
HFMA’s Peer Review team begins by reviewing a company’s application and supporting documents to determine if the solution as well as the company is qualified to participate in the program. After passing the initial screening, HFMA then asks for contact information for 25 current clients of at least six months and five prospects that did not buy the solution. The customers and prospects then take a detailed online survey.
After selecting up to six HFMA members as Peer Review panelists, HFMA staff compiles the survey results and produces a weighted scorecard based on Peer Review criteria. HFMA counsel discusses legal issues pertinent to the solution, such as compliance measures, with the applicant. The Peer Review team reviews all information to determine if the applicant qualifies for designation based on high survey scores and positive ratings from reviewers.
HealthFirst Financial will be at booth 717 at HFMA’s ANI June 25-28
About HealthFirst Financial
Founded in 2001, HealthFirst Financial is a national patient financing leader that has helped hundreds of thousands of patients afford care while improving the financial performance of healthcare organizations. HealthFirst Financial is the first and only company awarded the prestigious Peer Review Designation from the Healthcare Financial Management Association for its patient financing programs following a rigorous evaluation of the overall effectiveness, quality and value of its payment solutions. Oregon-based HealthFirst Financial patient financing programs are available at more than 220 healthcare facilities across the United States.
