Healthcare leaders, still feeling the effects of Covid and “the Great Resignation,” recently revealed their top concerns in a revenue cycle survey conducted by Becker’s Hospital Review and PwC. The survey reinforced what keeps revenue cycle leaders up at night and where they need the most help:
- How do they create the best people strategy? Eighty-two percent said they’re experiencing dire labor shortages among their revenue cycle teams. Competition for healthcare revenue cycle professionals is fierce as digital health startups look for talent and large payers enter the provider arena. Is offshoring an option, and what kind of training is needed?
- How do they measure return on investment (ROI) when implementing new technology and automation? Sixty-five percent believe leveraging technology would drive the greatest impact.
- How do they use data to better collaborate with payers across the revenue cycle ecosystem? Payer denials of providers’ medical claims are up by as much as 20% in some organizations, and 84% of provider organizations say they’re behind on cash collections.
Making the right decisions, hiring the right leaders, choosing the right partners and leveraging the right data are all important to addressing healthcare revenue cycle concerns and improving operations for the future:
- Decision-making: One way to begin tackling these challenges is to make sure revenue cycle leadership has a seat at the table and gets the investment and attention that it deserves. As the revenue cycle team is the glue that holds the financial health of the organization together, this group should be part of the decision-making process, from staffing to technology enablement.
- People: Healthcare organizations should hire the right leaders who are progressive thinkers, as this is one of the biggest decisions organizational executives can make to ensure they're meeting today's challenges and preparing for the future.
- Partners: Organizations need to think about who they partner with across the revenue cycle, choosing a true partner who can help in every aspect, whether it’s technology, consulting or managed services. Organizations should seriously consider how the market is changing. The revenue cycle is too complex to fully manage in-house, but too strategic to simply outsource. The right partners can help healthcare organizations combat the challenges of today.
- Data: Revenue organizations need to understand data. Data is the new frontier. Using data, whether it be through enabling new automations or analytics, is going to be paramount to the future success of healthcare providers. Leaders need to be thinking about how they're doubling down and making data an imperative and a cornerstone of how they operate specifically within the revenue cycle.
For a deeper dive into the survey findings, and added perspective, review the report summary at Healthcare revenue survey. Read more about how PwC Revenue Cycle Managed Services can help revenue leaders. To hear a discussion on this topic, listen in to the PwC podcast at NIH Rev Cycle podcast.