From ensuring proper staffing to driving an improved consumer experience, here are the top revenue cycle priorities for five hospital and health system leaders.
Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Todd Craghead. Vice President of Revenue Cycle at Intermountain Healthcare (Salt Lake City): My No. 1 priority is to deliver an improved consumer experience that is transparent and technology-enabled in order to encourage customer loyalty, as well as timely payment for the services we deliver.
Amanda Gordon. Senior Director for Patient Access, Customer Service and Financial Counseling at Legacy Health (Portland, Ore.): The No. 1 priority is to ensure sufficient staffing to complete the current work. Part of this is looking for any possible efficiencies, including artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, etc.
Kimberly Scaccia. Vice President of Revenue Cycle at Mercyhealth Wisconsin and Illinois (Rockford, Ill.): There is no way to choose one. Recruitment and retention are high on the priority list, obviously. From an overall revenue cycle perspective, enhancing our patient experience starting from the point of estimates, to scheduling and easier access, having compassionate financial conversations, providing additional payment options such as CareCredit — which is an option we offer our patients — all the way through adding automation technologies in RCM are critical to our future success.
Lisa Schillaci. Vice President of Revenue Cycle Operations at Houston Methodist: My top priority for 2022 is obtaining, retaining and developing talent as we address the ever-changing healthcare landscape. These changes include adopting an innovative approach to traditional work and enhancing the work from home experience for employees to drive outcomes. In addition, another priority is ensuring our collective efforts positively impact the patient experience.
Sunitha Reddy. Vice President of Operations at Prime Healthcare Services (Ontario, Calif.): The patient and their care is always our No. 1 priority. The integration of care delivery and revenue cycle management is critical for Prime Healthcare. In an increasingly consumer-focused healthcare market, Prime is adopting revenue cycle strategies that not only ensure strong financial outcomes but also provide a better patient experience. Today, patients are expecting and deserve more transparency regarding the cost of care, especially as high-deductible plans are on the rise and health insurance policies are becoming increasingly complex. In an effort to proactively address these needs, Prime has been focused on implementing a number of patient-centered initiatives, including accurate and reliable online patient estimates to improve price transparency, omni-channel payment methods and alternative patient financing solutions, among others. One example of the solutions we are implementing is Synchrony CareCredit program that allows patients to choose customized payment options that better suit their needs. We feel an integrated approach to patient financing is critical to support the well-being of our patients and Prime Healthcare and will continue to focus on implementing these patient-centric revenue cycle initiatives leading into 2022.