Survey Reveals Revenue Cycle Management Concerns for 2024

January 25, 2024 - When it comes to revenue cycle management, healthcare leaders are concerned about timely patient collections, managing denials, and hiring and training staff in 2024, new data found.

The survey, commissioned by Salucro Healthcare Solutions, included responses from 176 healthcare professionals.

Half of respondents are generally satisfied with their organization’s revenue cycle management, with 34 percent saying it is somewhat efficient and 16 percent calling it very efficient. However, when differentiating between executive leaders and hands-on revenue cycle leaders, the latter is less likely to rate their system as efficient or view it neutrally compared to the former.

Nearly 50 percent of healthcare leaders said timely patient collections are their biggest challenge in revenue cycle management. Leaders are also worried about managing denials (36 percent), hiring and training staff (32 percent), data analytics and reporting (26 percent), and maintaining security and compliance (13 percent).

Existing patient payment and billing platforms are not meeting leaders’ expectations. Almost a third (31 percent) of respondents said their text-to-pay features were lacking, while 24 percent noted their patient engagement tools could be better.

When looking for payment platforms, 96 percent of respondents said that these solutions must integrate into their current revenue cycle applications and workflow. Separate payment systems may lead to inefficiencies, errors, and poor user experience.

While technology use is increasing in every healthcare sector, 69 percent of respondents are using paper statements to communicate with patients. Fewer healthcare professionals use email (55 percent), phone calls (55 percent), patient portal messages (47 percent), and text messages (24 percent).

Collecting patient payments would be easier with digital-first solutions, but it is not easy for all healthcare leaders. Over a quarter of respondents (26 percent) said that patient resistance was the biggest barrier to digital-first patient financial engagement technology, followed by data security concerns (21 percent) and costs (20 percent).

To implement new digital patient payment platforms, most respondents would require them to improve revenue (69 percent) or reduce the cost to collect (48 percent). Price, ease of use, and integration capabilities are the most important factors when evaluating potential partners.

Around half of healthcare leaders are somewhat likely (33 percent) or very likely (16 percent) to invest in new revenue cycle technology in the next 12 to 18 months. Leveraging automation and other technologies can help streamline administrative tasks, reduce burden, and minimize costs.