Economic pressures and lingering workforce struggles are squeezing the bottom line at today’s healthcare organizations. According to the American Hospital Association, hospital labor costs increased 258% over a three year period.
Rising costs, economic uncertainty, worker shortages and other operational challenges are being keenly felt across the entire healthcare spectrum. That’s certainly the case in revenue cycle management departments, where digital innovation initiatives have traditionally lagged and competition for workers is especially fierce.
In an industry where margins are already tight, there’s not a lot of cushion for incremental moves or doing more of the same.
Current market struggles have healthcare systems rethinking RCM.
Organizations that have organically built their revenue cycle systems over time may find the current market struggles to be particularly burdensome, especially those that have traditionally relied on and employed a large number of workers to manage day-to-day operations.
And it’s not just the financial performance of the hospital that’s at stake — organizations that fail to embrace new initiatives designed to streamline and automate service delivery, enhance the patient experience and otherwise improve operations will fall behind the pack in competitive markets.
“The R1 partnership helps strengthen Sutter’s long-term financial health and our ability to continually reinvest in our patients, communities and integrated network,” said Jeremy Eaves, former CEO at Sutter Shared Services.
Innovation is key to a strong revenue cycle management.
Organizations that embrace an end-to-end (E2E) revenue cycle partnership to bring timely and much-needed innovation and standardization to their operations can position themselves to scale their revenue collection efforts and thrive during continued workforce and economic uncertainty.
By implementing purpose-built integrated technology powered by automation, health systems can reduce the friction that negatively impacts cost and service delivery while simultaneously improving the overall patient experience. The ability to seamlessly integrate with existing IT infrastructures is also necessary to provide a standardized approach that delivers additional scalability and speed to value.
Having an operating system that utilizes technology and proven processes to standardize a health system’s entire revenue cycle provides a roadmap for success and transparency into performance that ensures lasting improvements.
“R1’s investment in technology, combined with the unsurpassed experience and knowledge of their delivery team, has clearly separated them from other RCM vendors,” said John Rutledge, President and CEO at American Physician Partners.
Having trouble finding quality revenue cycle staff? The right RCM partner can help you there, too.
In addition, the fixed cost of maintaining and recruiting talent is eliminated with an E2E partner. They take the brunt of this labor shortage by ensuring their customers continually have access to the valuable talent and technology needed and are not affected by industry disruptions.
Companies offering full partnerships to manage revenue cycle operations for providers have been solely focused on building upon their capabilities, in the form of expert staffing, technology, scalability and process improvement for quite some time.
“Inside every obstacle is an opportunity. For hospitals and health systems, today’s unprecedented RCM labor shortages represent an unparalleled opportunity to evaluate ways to reduce dependence on on-site RCM staffing,” said Stephen Bernard, EVP of Customer Operations at R1.
A reliable E2E partner takes full accountability for their customers’ revenue cycle, bringing deep and broad expertise, industry best practices and technology-driven optimized end-to-end workflows in the form of a complete operating system. This is the type of differentiated value that allows health systems to focus on clinical care and prevail financially through the current market headwinds.
The right RCM partner can produce significant results faster than you can accomplish on your own.
Results can be immediate and significant. With a reliable E2E revenue cycle partner, organizations across the country have been able to reduce costs, improve revenue and transform the patient experience, with measurable results that include:
- 20% reduction in cost to collect
- 5% increase in NPR
- Up to 40% increase in patient satisfaction
Since these critical workforce shortages and additional pressures are predicted to continue, the most important consideration right now is timing.
Organizations that act now to drive innovation will set themselves apart as the leaders. Those that put off bold innovation may indeed find themselves increasingly at risk.
Discover why top organizations are turning to R1 as their partner for revenue cycle management.
- R1 RCM Completes Acquisition of Acclara, Providence’s Modular Services Business
- R1 RCM Announces 10-Year End-to-End Revenue Cycle Management Partnership with St. Clair Health
- R1 RCM Announces 10-Year End-to-End RCM Partnership with Sutter Health
- R1 Announces 10-Year End-to-End Revenue Cycle Management Partnership with ScionHealth
- American Physician Partners Announces Revenue Cycle Partnership Extension with R1 to Support Its Continued Growth in Emergency Medicine Market
Author bio: Content written on behalf of R1 RCM
