Recapping the 2024 Becker’s Health IT, Digital Health and Revenue Cycle Management Conference
By Jonathan Wiik, Vice President, Health Insights, FinThrive
In today’s healthcare environment, maintaining secure and continuous claims management is more crucial than ever. Recent cyberattacks highlight the vulnerabilities organizations face without robust backup systems. When claims systems fail, revenue suffers, and hospitals risk losing millions as they scramble to recover.
For those in hospital billing, accounting, and finance, claims processing is essential for maintaining steady revenue flow. With the growing threat of cyberattacks and ransomware threats, the critical question is: What happens when your primary claims management system becomes unavailable? Unprepared hospitals faced prolonged delays, unable to process claims for extended periods. The issue is not if this will happen again but when—and how ready you will be.
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Understanding the Risk
Cyberattacks targeting health systems are increasing, with claims management systems being a frequent target due to the sensitive nature of the data they handle.
Hospitals reliant on a single vendor for their claims management can be left in a precarious situation when their system goes down. In some cases, claims processing could be paused indefinitely, leaving hospitals unable to generate revenue at risk for a significant financial disruption.
The Standby Option: Cybersecurity “Insurance” for Claims Management
This is where a standby claims management partner becomes essential. Much like having insurance for your facility, a secondary claims management solution offers peace of mind and security. FinThrive’s Claims Manager provides what’s known as a “Standby Option”—a lower-cost, backup system that remains dormant unless needed.
The Standby Option works as a safety net in case your primary vendor is compromised, allowing your organization to resume claims processing within hours or days, rather than waiting weeks or months for your vendor to recover. By having this contingency in place, hospitals can ensure business continuity, protect cash flow and avoid costly delays that come with system downtime.
Why You Need a Backup Solution
Business Continuity
When claims management systems fail, the entire revenue cycle is disrupted. Without a backup, your hospital may face severe reimbursement delays. A standby solution ensures uninterrupted operations, regardless of primary system issues.
Rapid Recovery
A standby system excels in quickly restoring functionality. With a secondary claims management solution, hospitals can resume processing claims swiftly, reducing the risk of prolonged revenue loss.
Diversified Risk
Relying on a single claims management vendor exposes your organization to outages and cyberattacks. Diversifying claims processing capabilities by incorporating a backup option significantly mitigates this risk, helping your hospital continue income generation during crises.
Affordable Protection
The standby option costs significantly less than a full claims management solution, providing an affordable layer of protection. In this way, it acts like insurance—there when you need it, without a hefty price tag.
Learning from the Past: Be Prepared for the Next Attack
The lessons from recent cyberattacks are clear: hospitals need to be prepared for the unexpected. A claims management standby option is not just a “nice-to-have”—it’s a crucial component of a robust cybersecurity and business continuity strategy. By implementing a backup system, hospitals can protect their revenue, maintain cash flow and ensure that they’re not left in the dark the next time a vendor goes down.
Preparedness is everything in healthcare billing. Having a secondary claims processing system in place will ensure that your hospital remains operational, even in the face of a cyberattack.
Are you prepared for the next disruption? Ensure your hospital can keep processing claims no matter what by exploring the Standby Option with FinThrive’s Claims Manager.
