2023 Trends Report: How Healthcare RCM Leaders Embrace Change

By Jeff Becker, Vice President, Portfolio Solutions, FinThrive

Introduction

Earlier this year, FinThrive partnered with AlphaSights to conduct a comprehensive body of research among RCM leaders. This initiative was designed to gather the latest trends and better understand top-of-mind objectives, initiatives and investments facing hospitals and health systems. The research and analysis are not only thorough but compelling as they identify objectives, priorities and investments planned for 2023 and beyond. We are excited to share the findings in a comprehensive report designed for those seeking innovative strategies and solutions to solve their revenue cycle management challenges and secure better financial health at their organizations.

Trends Report Overview

The 2023 RCM Transformative Trends Report reflects our inaugural research on healthcare technology modernization trends within revenue cycle. Its purpose is to offer leaders current industry insights and where it’s headed in the future. We learned RCM leaders are leaning into the challenges of managing care for communities across the country and stepping back to rethink how to embrace change, even if it’s disruptive to traditional strategies and revenue operations. This report drills down to the core functions of managing the revenue cycle, technology adoption, EHR integration, staff efficiency and investment priorities.

Revenue Management Realities

Revenue cycle leaders have made it quite clear that something must change. The full pandemic recovery hasn’t happened yet and as a result, the financial and operational challenges are more intense and difficult. To see how your peers are addressing these challenges, read our 2023 RCM Transformative Trends Report. This research captures leadership perspectives on what's working, what’s not and where organizations are focusing their efforts and investments. These insights can help you construct your own path forward during this critical time as you manage your financial and clinical operations.

Rethinking Revenue Management

The survey captured insights from 100+ RCM leaders and dug deep into their plans for improving healthcare. While the areas of focus are not new to RCM, these executives indicated they are seeking multiple pathways to recover from the pandemic and transform from where they are today. One of the key observations was that technology adoption is crucial to advancing revenue management, but that the industry has been slow to advance.

These objectives include:  

• Increasing revenue
  For 2023, hospital and health system financial leaders state that increasing revenue is their top corporate objective. Our report explores digital transformative trends that can drive revenue growth including improving accurate billing, optimizing reimbursement processes and implementing innovative RCM strategies.
• Reducing costs
  Survey responses showed that cost reduction is the second top objective in RCM and how modernization efforts can streamline financial operations, automate manual processes and identify cost-savings. These leaders see technology as the path to optimize revenue efficiency while lowering expenses.
• Improving the patient financial experience
  While providers seek to improve the patient experience, this research examines how technology can enable personalized and transparent financial interactions, leading to improved patient satisfaction and loyalty. Organizations are considering digital options to simplify billing and payments, offer price transparency and empower financial communication.
• Managing staffing shortages
  The report confirms healthcare organizations continue to deal with staffing shortages, and specifically within revenue cycle management teams reveals how leaders have turned to technology to empower the existing workforce and to relieve the administrative burden of their jobs. From leveraging automation and artificial intelligence to optimizing staff productivity, the research provides insights into managing staffing shortages while maintaining productivity and operational efficiency.

Benchmark the latest strategies, learn about peers’ transformational plans and guide a forward-thinking approach to RCM advancement with FinThrive’s 2023 RCM Transformative Trends Report.

Get the Report

About the Author
Jeff Becker
Vice President, Portfolio Solutions

Jeff Becker, Vice President of FinThrive Portfolio Solutions and industry thought leader in healthcare, market research, analytics, and technology.  Jeff leads the go-to-market plans for FinThrive solutions to address the needs of the acute, ambulatory, and payer segments with an emphasis on data-driven marketing strategies to help transform the healthcare economy.