Providers ready to change revenue cycle management systems
Nearly half of healthcare providers plan to replace their current revenue cycle management (RCM) system in the next five years, according to a new survey from market researcher KLAS.
In its survey, “Seismic Shift in Revenue Cycle: Market Heading toward Sole-Source Landscape,” KLAS finds that there are many factors influencing this shift – from integration and single source solutions to cost and bolt-on functionality – and providers are going about their RCM buying decision processes with more than just the revenue cycle in mind, the KLAS study found.
[See also: Revenue cycle management undergoes changes]
One CFO of a community hospital on the East Coast said, “I put the decision to find a new hospital-wide system into the hands of my clinical team. I decided that if they were happy, I could make any patient financials package work.”
Of the providers planning to make a change, 87 percent plan to do so in the next three year, the survey found.
Most providers are looking at a new RCM system in terms of how it fits in with a single-source enterprise strategy, often driven by the clinical vendor. Nearly three of four providers in this study mention their CIS as influencing their decision to replace or upgrade their RCM. One in four say that accountable care organizations (ACOs), ICD-10, or other government initiatives were also influences. However, while fewer providers are gravitating toward the best-of-breed approach, the study found that larger development shops and those with a weak RCM system are the most likely to choose a best-of-breed replacement.
Epic and Siemens top the list for providers with more than 200 beds, while McKesson and MEDITECH were the most considered by community hospitals with 200 or fewer beds.
The report also examines how enterprise integration and single-source solutions have increased momentum in the RCM replacement market, the strengths and weaknesses of various RCM solutions, the bolt-on market and the influence of ACO and government initiatives.
