Digital Reimbursement Systems in a Student-Run Clinic

Area of Science:

• Healthcare access
• Digital health
• Health economics

Background:

• Uninsured populations face challenges accessing healthcare services.
• Digital tools are increasingly used in healthcare, but their impact on uninsured groups is not well understood.
• A student-run clinic serving uninsured New York City residents implemented a digital reimbursement system.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a new digital reimbursement system on uninsured patients.
• To analyze reimbursement volumes, refund rates, and reimbursement timelines.
• To compare outcomes before and after the implementation of digital reimbursements.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of pharmacy records for 94 unique patients and 2770 reimbursements (October 2016 - May 2023).
• Patients categorized into in-person and digital reimbursement groups.
• Demographic analysis, reimbursement volume, refund counts, and time to payment were compared between groups and pre/post implementation.

Main Results:

• Digital reimbursement users received higher total reimbursement amounts ($1131.24 vs. $289.36) and faster reimbursements (56 days vs. 62 days).
• The digital group requested more refunds on average (47 vs. 14).
• Post-implementation, monthly reimbursement volume more than doubled ($481 to $1298), average monthly reimbursements increased (27 to 45), and monthly patient numbers rose (6 to 9).

Conclusions:

• Digital reimbursement options effectively facilitate medication reimbursement for uninsured patients.
• Digital systems lead to increased utilization, quicker refunds, and larger total reimbursement amounts.
• Digital reimbursement systems are a valuable tool for improving healthcare access for underserved populations.