Outdated AR Is Causing Widespread Financial Losses. Is True Modernization the Answer?

Outdated healthcare accounts receivable management costs more than many healthcare leaders realize. Many are hobbling along, making small tweaks to systems and processes that don’t come close to the goal of true modernization – and they’re paying for it. Payment inefficiencies waste $760 billion to $935 billion a year [1]. This issue spans medical billing accounts receivable and hospital accounts receivable. 

For example, a recent survey of healthcare leaders tried to capture a picture of just how much inefficient payment systems are impacting healthcare organizations, including delays in payment and claims processing that elevate operational risk. The good news is that eight out of ten leaders surveyed believed that streamlining was of high importance. The other side though, is that 84% said they face financial losses because of outdated AR processes. This statistic is a cry for help for the need of modernization in healthcare accounts receivable management.

But I believe that many of that 84% likely does think they’ve modernized. In my experience, most revenue cycle leaders have made multiple efforts to keep up with the challenges in the industry. So, the issue is less a lack of will, and more likely the lack of a concrete target of modernization. 

There is opportunity here. Healthcare stakeholders have been able to save $187 billion annually by increasing efficiency [2]. To meet the needs of today's healthcare challenges, revenue cycle leaders will need to implement a modernization strategy that applies multiple solutions, including outsourcing – harmonizing the use of competent vendors with other strategic choices around process, workflows, staffing and technology. For many medical billing accounts receivable and hospital account receivable programs, this might be a shift from an approach to modernization that simply revamps one or two aspects of their revenue cycle strategy. Every aspect of the revenue cycle must be reviewed for alignment with modernization goals. This shift is critical in achieving a holistic approach to modernization that takes advantage of every opportunity to maximize the potential for efficiency. 

I’m proud to support this future of modernization of revenue cycle management services through our offerings at 3Gen Consulting.