ZOLL® and healthcare payment platform, PayGround, are teaming up to modernize EMS patient billing and payment processes.

Running individual patient statements takes up valuable time for EMS billing staff during business hours. Printing, folding, stuffing, and mailing paper statements is inefficient and costly. Many patients want to pay by credit card (FSA or private account), but for EMS agencies to be able to accept patient credit card payments, they traditionally need to enroll with a credit card payment processor.

The collaboration between ZOLL and PayGround enables ZOLL Billing customers to streamline workflows and improve billing performance through a single, time-saving solution. The digital-first patient statement and payment portal automates paperless statement generation and credit card processing to reduce manual effort, help improve timely payments, and enhance cash flow predictability.​

According to industry data, more than 13 percent of EMS services are unpaid or self-paid, leaving nearly $4.5 billion on the table every year.¹ Patients are more likely to pay on time if they have online payment options, but having to enroll with a separate credit card payment processor to accept patient credit card payments creates another layer of complexity and administrative burden for EMS agencies.

Now, billing, patient statements, and online payment processing are centralized in a single solution, ZOLL Billing — increasing the likelihood of timely patient payments. Payment status can be tracked by claim, which helps billing staff predict cash flow.

“EMS organizations struggle with the staggering costs of uncompensated care. The ZOLL Billing and PayGround integration will help address this massive financial friction point,” said Drew Mercer, CEO of PayGround. “We are thrilled to work with ZOLL to help bring technological advances to the industry.”

For many ZOLL customers, the integration represents their first opportunity to offer digital payment options to patients.

“ZOLL EMS customers operate in a demanding, high-performance, low-reimbursement environment where every dollar matters,” said Stacey Bickford, Senior Product Manager at ZOLL. “We strive to support EMS agencies at every stage of operations with advanced products that help them do their jobs better, with less effort, so they can focus on fulfilling their life-saving mission. This labor-saving integration with PayGround helps agencies improve financial and operational performance efficiently while enhancing the patient financial experience and overall satisfaction with their EMS encounter.”

If you have questions or would like to learn more about the offerings related to the collaboration, please contact us online or call us at 800-474-4489.