Many ophthalmology practices incorporate patient financing as a tool to facilitate conversions to premium procedures – and to help patients afford the outcomes and QOL improvement they’re seeking.

However, there are limitations to traditional financing programs that can sometimes curb the conversion rate, in part because they still leave patients juggling complex logistics and having to pay different parties with credit cards or checks.

The problem is this: When patients want to finance the procedure, they want to finance the entire procedure. But with traditional programs, they cannot do so easily.

Here’s why:

1. The funds from patient financing loans initiated by the ophthalmology practice can only be settled to one bank account (the ophthalmology practice’s), which means patients must come up with additional funds to cover amounts due to other care partners, such as an ASC or co-managing optometrist.

2. Patients may be able to finance other providers’ fees if those providers offer financing … but they can be forced to take out multiple loans with different interest rates and repayment terms — a confusing and frustrating experience.

3. To make things simpler, some ophthalmology practices have the patient finance the entire cost of the procedure, including other providers’ fees, and receive the funds from the financing company. They then cut checks to and pay the ASC and/or co-managing OD themselves. While well-intentioned, this workaround involves making payments to referring providers and opens the door to very real compliance risks.

Traditional patient financing for procedures involving multiple parties puts ophthalmology practices in a difficult position: burden the patient / risk losing the premium upgrade, or take on compliance risks.

CoFi saw this challenge, and knew we could help. This is why we worked with the leading patient financing companies to bring Multi-Party Financing to the market. This is a compliant, patient-friendly, and practice-friendly solution that solves all of the above issues, while also giving ophthalmology practices the best opportunity to convert patients to premium procedures.

Here’s how CoFi’s innovative multi-party financing program works:

1. Patients can finance the entire cost of the procedure, including each party’s fees, through one simple loan.

2. All fees are distributed directly to each party, separately and compliantly (gross amounts, less the financing fee).

3. Aside from the surgeon, there’s no need for any of the other parties to sign up with the patient financing company. They merely have to have a CoFi account.

4. Each party bears a portion of the financing charge.

“The feature has made patient financing a lot easier,” said Preston Rawlings, Director of Operations for Center for Sight. “Our ASC hadn’t established a CareCredit account, so the CoFi-CareCredit integration was very helpful there. All the ASC had to do was join CoFi, and our patients were able to use CareCredit to pay both our practice and the ASC at once.”

For ophthalmology practices, CoFi’s Multi-Party Financing product streamlines the discussion with the patient, provides them with the ability to easily finance the entire procedure, and obviates any reason to collect funds on behalf of any other provider.

"The multi-provider financing capability CoFi offers is unquestionably easier for patients, said Jesse McKey, M.D., of Whitsett Vision Group in greater Houston. "It's a win for our staff and practice, too, since it streamlines our discussion with the patient, and aligns with our compliance objectives."

The Bottom Line: More Access, More Confidence = More Conversions

When patients can confidently say “yes” to the full scope of their care — without worrying about how to pay each provider — conversion rates can go up. CoFi’s innovative Multi-Party Financing makes the payment process easier, more transparent, and more compliant.

Practices that implement CoFi’s Multi-Party Financing don’t just make life easier for their patients. They convert more cases, retain more revenue, and build more trust. It’s not just a financing tool; it’s a growth tool.