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Universal Health Services picks Cerner for revenue cycle platform

The move could signal the beginnings of a new wave of RCM work in healthcare.

Bernie Monegain, Editor, Healthcare IT News

Hospital management giant Universal Health Services is swapping out its legacy revenue cycle management system for Millennium Revenue Cycle from Cerner. 

The move could signal the beginnings of a new wave of RCM work in healthcare, a market emphasis that analysts figure is a multi-billion dollar opportunity.

"Revenue cycle is a front-burner issue once again," Piper Jaffrey analysts Sean Wieland and Nina Deka wrote in a March 31 brief.

[Also: Revenue cycle changes are inevitable, Cerner reimbursement chief says]

Moreover, a recent study by medical claims clearinghouse Navicure concluded that 66 percent of hospitals plan to focus on revenue cycle operations now that the transition to ICD-10 is done and meaningful use is waning.

Among the vendors who stand to gain the most are the big ones – Epic, Meditech, McKesson and Cerner.

At UHS, the Cerner RCM system will integrate with UHS' existing Cerner Millennium EHR.

[Also: HIMSS Revenue Cycle Task Force seeks case studies on patient experiences]

The goal is to help advance integration between clinical and financial information for the acute care and ambulatory facilities UHS supports, the company said.

"Since 2009, UHS has worked with Cerner as our primary health care technology partner," Mike Nelson, UHS vice president of Information Services and CIO, said in a statement, adding that UHS executives expect the new RCM technology will "positively impact our overall financial goals." 

UHS was using the Siemens Invision RCM platform before making the switch; Cerner acquired Siemens in August of 2014. 

Twitter: @HC_Finance