KLAS: Where CIS Goes, RCM Follows

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, according to a recent study, Seismic Shift in Revenue Cycle: Market Heading toward Sole-Source Landscape?, by Orem, Utah-based KLAS.

One CFO of a community hospital on the East Coast told KLAS: “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.”

Nearly three of four providers in the study mention their CIS as influencing their decision to replace or upgrade their RCM. One in four say that Accountable Care, 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 are the most likely to choose go-forward plans with a best-of-breed RCM replacement.

Epic and Siemens top the list of considerations for over-200 bed providers while McKesson and Meditech were the most considered by community (200 and less bed) hospitals, KLAS stated.

The number of healthcare providers replacing their RCM system has risen drastically, KLAS found. Over the next five years, nearly 50 percent of providers plan to replace their RCM, with 87 percent of those planning to do so in the next three years.

This 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.