Performing a Healthcare Technology Check-Up

The healthcare industry is always rapidly changing, and with this rate of change comes the need for healthcare technology to keep pace. Updating outdated financial management systems and workflows can have tangible benefits that can move healthcare organizations forward and position them for ongoing success. 

From Paperless to Practice 

Like many other sectors, healthcare organizations are experiencing massive changes in how they operate. More employees are working remotely, and teams are being asked to do more with less. A dependence on inefficient or manual processes, including paper approvals and moving data into spreadsheets for analysis, creates additional strain on already stressed team members.  

Paperless automation can transform healthcare organizations from reactive and slow-to-adapt into proactive, future-ready, and resilient organizations. Utilizing modern financial management tools is one of the most impactful ways to reduce reliance on paper and spreadsheets. The right technology helps automate financial workflows (e.g., purchasing, accounts payable, reconciliations, reporting) across one or multiple entities. In reducing the time spent on these routine activities, margin can be found for value-added activities, like analyzing data. 

Savvy Meets Successful  

Successful finance teams are not just keepers of what has happened but crucial leaders of the organization’s future, with an abundance of operational and financial data. Savvy healthcare organizations are turning to this data to better understand their businesses and plan for growth, address cost-reduction initiatives, navigate evolving regulatory requirements, and manage the shift to consumer-driven healthcare.  

By harnessing data, healthcare teams can be more proactive in making decisions. The right financial management environment and reporting tools can unlock:  

• Instant visibility into consolidations across entities.  
• Key performance indicators (KPIs).
• New levels of detail across different dimensions such as payor, physician, and more.  

Dashboards can present vital KPIs like cost or revenue per treatment, revenue and expense per location and department, and budget-to-actual reports. By combining financial and non-financial data, healthcare organizations can gain additional insights that were not previously possible without the use of external reporting tools.  

Peace of Mind 

Keeping personal data secure is a top priority for healthcare organizations. This data is subject to increasingly stringent privacy regulations. Most systems already contain protected health information (PHI) like account numbers, names, addresses, and phone numbers. Keeping PHI protected means protecting all of it, including the PHI in the organization’s financial management system.  

Considerations for HIPAA compliance should remain top of mind when adopting new financial management tools. Visibility doesn’t stop with financial reports and KPIs, it should extend into an audit trail to track, report, monitor, and audit access to PHI. And just as important as securing financial data is the peace of mind that your provider of financial management software is certified HIPAA-compliant and will also sign a Business Associate Agreement.  

Is Your Software Helping or Hindering? 

If your organization is growing, adding new locations or specialties, considering a merger, undergoing cost reduction, or accepting value-based contracts, now is the time to evaluate if your software is helping or hindering your progress. Modern cloud financial management tools like Sage Intacct provide process automation, powerful reporting and analytics, multi-entity consolidation, and visible accountability and compliance.  

EisnerAmper partners with Sage Intacct to provide healthcare organizations with the only accounting software endorsed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the only financial management solution to have earned the designation of Peer Reviewed by the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). Further, Sage Intacct’s security safeguards have been certified as HIPAA- and HITECH-compliant by Avertium.  

In implementing cloud accounting and financial management software, a business advisor should consider a holistic view of all systems and processes surrounding the financial management function. EisnerAmper professionals can assist healthcare organizations during their entire Sage Intacct journey, supporting the organization’s evolving needs now and into the future. Contact us below to discuss how we can help.