Strategic partnerships: Key areas of focus for revenue cycle leaders in 2022

The following is an interview with Kristen Saponaro, chief client officer at Savista.

While the Savista name may be new, we are the result of years of M&A activity leading to a revenue cycle services company with more than 31 years of experience. We partner with healthcare organizations to understand their unique challenges, then make actionable recommendations and effectively solve operational complexities of the revenue cycle. We are flexible and customize our scope to meet clients’ needs – ranging from assessments to full outsourcing. We deliver the service level of local resources, supported by the power and scale of a global organization. 

We expect to see a variety of pain points continue across healthcare organizations, including recruiting and retention, elongated cycle times, revenue leakage, denials, write-offs, eroding margins and subpar patient experiences. Typically, these issues tie back to challenges within three key areas: people, process and/or technology. 

• On the people side, providers are struggling to access talent in their communities. Staff turnover remains high and recent vaccine mandates further complicate the challenge within some organizations. Also, of concern is finding and retaining talent with the required skill sets and competencies. A robust training and education program is critical to ensure continuous improvement in performance as well as compliance with the complexities of continually evolving local, state, and federal requirements. 
• Looking at process, we see a lot of poorly defined workflows and room for improvement across the revenue cycle. It is our job to take an in-depth look at our client’s business and apply our expertise to help them drive positive change.
• On the technology front, some organizations need to optimize their legacy platforms, while others are struggling to manage disparate systems that don’t communicate well with one another. They need to create a holistic, exceptional experience for patients, but their technology may be standing in the way. 

Already operating on paper-thin margins, ensuring an efficient and effective revenue cycle is critical to financial stability. A shortage of skilled employees, squeezed budgets, compliance regulations and conflicting priorities drive providers to look outside their organization for the revenue cycle expertise required to achieve better financial and operational outcomes.

At Savista, we find many providers are closely examining which areas of their revenue cycle they can be experts in and address with in-house resources. They are also evaluating which areas of their revenue cycle they should outsource in order to optimize, provide stability, scalability, differentiate in their market, and accelerate cash. The ultimate goal is to deliver strong and consistent results across both internal and external teams.
 

Revenue cycle leaders need a business partner they can trust and one that can demonstrate proven results.

I’d advise selecting a vendor that is able to combine your data with business intelligence and historical experience to find opportunities for improvement, bringing proactive, actionable recommendations on an ongoing basis. A partner also needs to be able to scale to meet your needs. 

Savista leverages 31 years of experience with experts ready to help you with eligibility, coding, registry, AR management, patient responsibility, department outsourcing like HIM and Business office and complete revenue cycle outsourcing. We deliver unmatched:

• Expertise – we know the ins and outs of the revenue cycle, with the ability to deliver stability, scalability, and proven results. 
• Know how - we help our clients focus on the now and navigate the future with consultative services and actionable business recommendations.
• Flexible scope – we customize our approach to meet each client’s needs to ensure scalability, efficiency, and cost effectiveness, ranging from assessments to full outsourcing. 
• Proactive client focus – we are resourceful, trusted and committed to our client’s success.

The result: consistent, industry-leading financial and operational outcomes—and peace of mind. 

To learn more, visit www.SavistaRCM.com or contact us with any questions!
 

With over 30 years' experience, Savista provides flexible and consultative revenue cycle management services to acute and ambulatory facilities and systems. We enable our clients to navigate the biggest challenges in healthcare with optimal financial results. For more information, please visit www.SavistaRCM.com.