The amount that healthcare facilities are collecting up front before service has provided has more than tripled in the past six years and the overall amount of accounts receivable has decreased, but there still are many collection-related concerns facing hospitals, according to results of a survey that were released today.
The results were released by The Advisory Board, part of a biennial survey of healthcare organizations.
The cost to collect unpaid debts remained unchanged at 3%, according to the survey, a laudable achievement given that overall expenses rose by more than 7%. Many organizations remain blocked from realizing reduced expenses by centralizing their revenue cycle management functions, the report concluded.
Hospitals collected 0.8% of payments up front, up from 0.24% two years ago. For a 350-bed hospital, that would equate to an additional $3 million in revenue.
“Hospitals are facing a combination of reimbursement pressure and a recent acceleration in costs that has outpaced revenue growth, so institutions need to ensure they are receiving payment commensurate with the services they deliver,” said Jim Lazarus, national partner, technology at Advisory Board, in an announcement.
