Simplifying Payment Processing
Since its inception in 2020, Lumina Vision Partners has quickly become one of the largest optometry networks in the Southwest. With 26 locations in Arizona and Texas and more than 200 employees, the organization experienced significant growth in a short period. Recognizing the need for advanced technology to simplify operations, the leadership identified several key imperatives.
One critical need was the ability to process patient payments quickly and consistently across locations. Additionally, they aimed to simplify the technology and software, or “tech stack”, used across their numerous locations to enhance accounting and reporting efficiency. A simplified tech stack and faster payment processing would help save valuable staff time, allowing the network to focus on seeing new patients. To accomplish that goal, Lumina invested in Bridge™ Payments, part of the comprehensive Practice Management Bridge platform.
Collecting Outstanding Patient Balances
Before using Practice Management Bridge, Lumina Vision Partners had a standard practice of requiring patients to pay only 50 percent when ordering glasses or contacts during their appointment. The remaining 50 percent was paid when patients came to pick up their items. However, staff members often forgot to check for outstanding balances when patients returned, leading to accumulating balances and requiring extra effort to recoup payments.
Now, with Bridge Payments, patients who don’t pay 100 percent at the time of service must store their credit card information on file. This allows practices to conveniently charge patients for any remaining balance once their order is fulfilled.
Streamlining Practice Reporting
Prior to adopting Practice Management Bridge, Lumina Vision Partners relied on its various offices to manually post payments, and many practices lacked consistent end-of-day closing and reconciliation procedures.
“Now, they’re able to pull their batch totals from Practice Management Bridge and compare them to what was posted into Crystal PM,” Dedmon explained. “They have robust reporting to ensure they balance every day. That was something we never did before working with Rectangle Health.” With Bridge Payments’ sophisticated reporting, they can easily check balances daily.
Boosting Staff Morale
Staff in each of Lumina’s offices that have implemented Practice Management Bridge are very pleased with the platform. They find it easy to use and appreciate its ability to reduce the manual workload. Whenever questions arise, Lumina has found Rectangle Health’s customer support team to be very responsive, providing clear and timely solutions.
“They love it,” Dedmon said. “From implementation to just using it on a day-to-day basis, staff have all had positive things to say.”
Dedmon added that she frequently checks in with the offices about the vendors they use to see if any improvements are needed. When she asks about Practice Management Bridge, the responses are always positive. “We conduct a lot of practice management meetings, and they consistently recommend it,” she said.
Growing Their Network
As Lumina Vision Partners has grown and added practices to its network, the number of different technology vendors has also increased. Recognizing the need to consolidate where possible, Lumina sought a single platform that all practices could use for processing and posting patient payments.
After reviewing several potential technology partners, Lumina selected Practice Management Bridge, finding the platform to be affordable, interactive, and user-friendly. The ability to auto-post payments into the ledger was a decisive feature.
Since making the selection, Lumina has been in the process of setting up its practices with the platform. “We have been unifying everybody onto Practice Management Bridge,” Dedmon said. “We have all of our Arizona offices on the platform and one location in Texas that is in process. And we’re working on the rest of them.”
Lumina has found a vendor to support its growth, helping streamline payment collection with an easy-to-use platform that scales as they expand. Interested in learning more about Practice Management Bridge? Schedule a demo today.