Looking to better manage costs? While pursing technology to streamline patient records, the same consideration should be given to your accounts payable invoices.
Ah, the good old days. Paper records, snail mail, faxing medical records and handwritten scripts. Those days linger on, but are swiftly coming to an end. According to the 2014 report to Congress by The Office of the National Coordinator on Health IT Adoption and HIE, 59 percent of hospitals and 48 percent of physicians have at least a basic EHR system, respective increases of 47 percentage points and 26 percentage points since the HITECH Act was signed into law. And a whopping 78 percent of office-based physicians are using EHR systems to collect patient healthcare information. That's great news. With a deluge of new regulations and compliance requirements, the reliance on electronic systems can help practices, large and small, better manage patient clinical and financial information.
With new healthcare laws, exchanges and focus on quality incentive-based reimbursement, the need for an interoperable EHR is obvious. But what about the business of healthcare and the management of your accounts payable?
This is particularly important within large healthcare organizations like acute and long term care landscapes where the growing trend is consolidation. Rapid growth and merging entities can lead to a lack of control and disparity within your financial system, often leading to discrepancies when managing accounts between multiple geographic locations.
When it comes to the business impact of healthcare technology, PriceWaterhouse Coopers has this to say: "With growing demands to synthesize information and coordinate care for patients, providers must tap technology and the entire workforce to truly reduce costs and improve quality."
Although it is abundantly clear that technology can have a positive impact on the quality and cost of patient and provider data management, what is often overlooked is the potential impact that technology can have on other areas of business, for example account purchasing, HR and materials management. In order to align financial goals and strategic planning, healthcare executives must look not only at financial cost reporting, reimbursements and revenue cycles, but also focus on ways to improve the flow of accounting data and invoice handling as part of the larger cost management strategy.
Here are 5 ways automating your AP with the right technology can streamline processes for fiscal savings and operational accountability.
Increase operational efficiency
Medical documentation and patient files are not the only paper forms you need to manage. Human resource records, accounts payable invoices, purchase orders and materials paperwork must be processed efficiently and stored securely for easy retrieval. Not only are paper forms cost prohibitive to store and share, they're a hassle to locate when issues arise. With enterprise content management (ECM) systems, the same batch scanning and indexing systems used to import medical charts allow users to scan and file invoices and other office paperwork at an efficient rate. ECM systems can accelerate productivity by capturing and routing your AP invoices automatically – from one location. Invoices can be indexed, classified, matched and directly transferred into any general ledger system reducing the time employees spend on menial tasks and allowing stakeholders to access order and payment information faster. Remote access to files allows users to view data throughout the accounting office, the hospital, practice satellite locations or even home. Additionally, by automating invoice processing, productivity and access to information will be greatly improved company-wide.
Reduce manual processing costs
According to Aberdeen Research, companies surveyed reported a significant cost savings in automating invoice processing – from an average of $16.33 per paper invoice down to $5.65 for an electronic invoice – a savings of over 65%. The report attributes these savings to the decrease in time for payments, shorter processing times, ability to take advantage of discounts, and fewer mistakes. Let's not forget the cost to print, copy, fax, mail and store paper files. Electronic record storage can eliminate off-site storage facility expenses and reduce the time employees spend on shuffling paper.
Expand fiscal accountability
By increasing visibility into the AP process, healthcare companies gain a sharper picture of where they stand financially – examining invoicing bottlenecks, focusing on those accounts that need attention and improving cash management. Automated workflows from approvals to payment ensure accounting teams know precisely at which stage of the process an invoice is in and who is responsible for action. AP departments have access to open invoice reporting, providing greater visibility into outstanding invoices that are in-process, waiting for approvals or ready for payment. With a complete AP and ERP integration, purchase orders, contracts and supporting documentation, financial data, and reporting, can all be centralized for improved accuracy. Additionally, integration delivers faster procure-to-pay cycle times and more rapid processing of approvals for order acknowledgment and fulfillment. Many organizations can also benefit by establishing an early pay discount for premiums or administrative fees.
Ensure security & compliance
No industry globally is more regulated than healthcare. Compliance and security worries abound. Healthcare accounting team members are clearly overburdened by multiple forms, government and industry requirements, and coding schemes. By utilizing ECM to automate processes users can store and access all invoices and related accounting paperwork in a centralized location for easy retrieval and reporting. Just as in EHR, the newest systems utilize user-defined security settings to simplify everyday routines and increase the security level of data. Information is readily available for audits, reducing the strain on employees and auditors alike.
Harvest business intelligence
Lately, more and more healthcare executives are utilizing business intelligence (BI) in order to innovate and gain a better understanding of clinical and financial performance. The Global CIO Study by IBM, highlights how business analytics specifically benefit healthcare organizations by helping to reduce costs and increase efficiency, optimize network management and increase operating speed and adaptability. According to the study, more than 90 percent of healthcare CIOs for top-performing organizations cited insight and intelligence as a key focus for their organizations over the next three to five years. When healthcare companies utilize technology, like ECM, to automate AP and other paper-intensive processes, data is readily available. Automation also means that data can be analyzed in real-time, financial performance and desired outcomes.
In the 21st century and beyond, data delivers the power to drive even more efficiency and accuracy in healthcare. Business information traditionally locked in paper is now centralized and accessible for accurate forecasting. The cost savings that could be generated by automating your back office should not be overlooked.
Ray Emirzian is Vice President of Operations & Product Management at docSTAR, a B2B software firm specializing in cloud document management software and accounts payable automation. He has more than two decades of experience in business process analysis and automation, and business consultation working with industry-leading organizations including NCR, Canon USA, and AuthentiDate Holding Corporation. Emirzian offers innovative perspectives on streamlining business for improved efficiency and productivity with emphasis on Accounts Payable Solutions. You can follow Ray Emirzian and the docSTAR team on Twitter @docstarsoftware.
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