As the health care industry shifts, so too do roles in finance departments. One of these jobs recently profiled in Healthcare Finance News is the hospital controller, who oversees a number of pressing finance issues for the whole organization.
"A controller's function is to take actions controlling expenses for a hospital," said Mark Norrell, who lectures in health management and policy at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at the Indiana University. "For the last decade, organizations have cut costs inside the walls of the institution and have cut all there is. Additional savings will come through efficiencies of scale brought about by mergers and acquisitions."
These budgetary limitations may be caused, in part, by a slow or congested revenue cycle. When billing and collections professionals aren't bringing resources back into the hospital, clinic, medical center or private practice quickly enough, some short-term sacrifices might need to be made to make ends meet. Rather than scaling back an investment in finance management, hospitals can benefit by investing in areas that will help boost efficiency. This can relate to training existing collections administrators or reconfiguring roles to fit the present and future needs an organization faces on the finance front.
The bottom line is, many strategies for hospital budget management that worked 10 years ago or more, might not be effective in today's health care industry.
As the standards and practices of accounts receivable evolve, care facilities need the bandwidth to bridge changes with thorough attention. One of the best ways to relieve administrators of their overwhelming caseloads is to outsource receivables management. Contact Professional Medical Services today to learn more about how our solutions can help your health care organization.