Australian digital health company EpiSoft has launched an expanded Patient Financials platform to help public hospitals manage patient elections, informed financial consent and payments, with an initial focus on emergency departments.
The solution, launched at the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) NSW Conference earlier this month, is built on EpiSoft’s epi-me digital front door platform, it allows hospitals to introduce digital patient election, financial consent and payment workflows without replacing existing patient portals or admissions systems.
The platform is designed to help hospitals manage financial administration when patient liaison staff are unavailable, particularly overnight in emergency departments.
Patients can review their options and complete election documentation electronically where clinically appropriate, while hospital staff can identify outstanding elections and maintain an auditable record of decisions.
For patients ineligible for Medicare, the platform supports estimated fee information, electronic financial consent and payment arrangements before discharge.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australian public hospital emergency departments recorded 9.1 million presentations in 2024-25, with approximately 30 per cent occurring between 8pm and 8am.
While only a proportion of these presentations result in admissions requiring a patient election, EpiSoft said the figures highlighted the difficulties hospitals face in maintaining consistent administrative processes outside normal business hours.
The launch also comes as the National Health Reform Agreement 2026-2031 strengthens requirements around informed patient elections, including ensuring patients can choose public or private treatment without pressure or coercion. Some requirements remain subject to implementation guidance due by June 2027.
EpiSoft business development manager Edward Dennett said public hospitals faced particular challenges balancing clinical priorities with financial administration.
“What we’ve heard from public hospitals is that they have some particularly challenging circumstances to navigate. A patient might arrive in the emergency department at two o’clock in the morning, when the patient liaison team isn’t available. The patient’s clinical needs must always come first, but the financial and administrative requirements don’t simply disappear.
“Whilst we certainly don’t claim to have all the answers, we think technology can help bridge that gap by making information and appropriate workflows accessible when patients and staff need them, rather than relying entirely on someone being available to initiate the conversation.
“Different hospitals have different patient populations, systems and operational constraints. We’re keen to work with public hospital finance, admissions and clinical teams to ensure our solution is able to meet the challenges of their specific context.”
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