Atlanta ambulance company launches an online billing and payments service

Short of handing the bill to a patient being wheeled into the hospital, ambulance services often have a difficult time recouping their expenses. In the aftermath of the emergency, that ambulance bill always seems to find its way to the back of the pile of unopened or neglected mail.

The MetroAtlanta Ambulance Service, a Marietta, Ga.-based private ambulance service providing 911 transport services for Georgia’s capital and the surrounding communities in Cobb County, is partnering with a provider of electronic billing services in the hopes of making that payment process easier.

MetroAtlanta is implementing the PatientPay service offered by Zepherella, based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., enabling the company to send electronic statements and giving patients a secure website from which they can review and pay their bills with a credit or debit card.

“When I started MetroAtlanta Ambulance Service, one of my goals was to be as efficient as possible, enabling my team to focus our energies on patient care instead of paper work. I am always looking for new ways to further this objective and felt it worth trying Zepherella after evaluating their solution. It’s our pleasure to be able to offer our patients this convenience without any additional costs or substantial work for our team,” said company president and CEO Peter E. Quinones in a press release.

Zepherella’s paperless payment service, launched in 2008, is gaining momentum as healthcare costs rise and high-deductible health plans become the norm, forcing patient and providers to spend more time dealing with out-of-pocket fees.

“(O)ur online payment solution is the only one in the industry to seamlessly plug into any billing system without any setup cost to providers,” said Tom Furr, the company’s CEO. “MetroAtlanta Ambulance Service saw our value and recognized that we could alleviate a number of their costs. It truly creates a real partnership.”