KLAS: Revenue cycle services growth driven by MU, ICD-10, more

Pressures to meet Meaningful Use (MU) requirements and cut costs are driving growth in revenue cycle services throughout the U.S., according to the recent KLAS report, "Revenue Cycle Services: Which Firms Deliver Big Returns?" ICD-10 preparation and reduced reimbursements also have added to demand for outside revenue cycle assistance to improve cash collections, reduce A/R days and deal with legacy claims.
The survey includes a total of 135 respondents, primarily business office managers and C-suite executives.

"Providers are looking at every process in their revenue cycle," said Mike Smith, vice president of professional services research at KLAS. "Many are turning to third-party firms for extra help with everything from temporary project-based work to continual assistance with ongoing A/R follow-up or even full outsourcing of their revenue cycle department."

The report covers three primary sources for addressing providers' revenue cycle struggles:

• Engaging with extended business office services (EBOS) firms for self-pay, private and government insurance, workers' compensation, legacy A/R, and financial clearance and counseling;
• Contracting with revenue cycle outsourcing (RCO) firms for providers seeking full-scale outsourcing; and
• Working with revenue cycle transformation firms for providers seeking leadership and direction in improving processes and reassessing.

The report includes the following firms: Accretive, Anthelio, Apollo Health Street, Cymetrix, Deloitte Consulting, Dell Services, FirstSource, Huron Consulting, MedAssets, PwC and Xerox. Parallon and Conifer are also discussed for revenue cycle outsourcing. Those leading the pack in extended business office include Deloitte Consulting, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (government insurance) and Cymetrix (private insurance, self-pay, service to patients). In revenue cycle transformation, Huron edges out PriceWaterhouseCoopers for the top score.