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April 14, 2023
Does your health system operate a centralized Accounts Payable (AP) department or run decentralized departments and systems? Is your current structure effective and efficient, or is money being leaked through your AP operations? Understanding how your health system’s AP operates and the benefit of different operating models is essential to decision-making. It takes AP one step closer to obtaining a holistic view of its function, what it could improve upon, and where it already excels. What AP Structure is your Health System Using? Centralized AP A truly centralized AP exists when all AP functions and staff across all entities inside […]
March 28, 2023
St. Louis (March 28, 2023)— TAG, Inc. has been selected by the St. Louis Small Business Monthly (SBM) readers as one of the “Most Reliable Firms in St. Louis.” Each month SBM polls its readers for its annual “Best in Business” contest and asks them to nominate and select the best service providers in St. Louis. TAG was selected as one of the top 25 Most Reliable firms in St. Louis. “It feels great to be recognized for something that comes naturally to our business model. We put our core values at the front of everything we do and […]
February 27, 2023
Account Payable (AP) gets the “short end of the stick” in health systems’ procure to pay (P2P) process. AP is often left resolving exceptions, rushing last-minute payment requests, and struggling to keep the hospital off vendor credit hold. AP corrects upstream P2P mistakes, resulting in more work and backlogs and reducing efficiency. However, many AP departments fail to use one of the most powerful tools available – today we will discuss the benefits of a recovery audit. Despite recovery audits often having a bad reputation, TAG’s Discovery Review complements AP and Supply Chain departments. We work as an extension of […]
January 20, 2023
Nonprofit health systems and hospitals will take years to recover from the effects the pandemic has on their labor force, cash flow, and supplies. In fact, high labor and supply costs are adding unprecedented debt to hospitals leaving one health system reporting their debt as high as $6.34 billion in December 2022. However, 2023 is projected to relieve some of the strain on health system finances, but may be too little too late for many rural hospitals at risk of immediate closure and leaving other hospitals cutting services and workforce numbers. As healthcare leaders look to rein in spending while […]
December 27, 2022
Veering from the 3-way matching process by not using a purchase order (PO) puts health systems at risk of erroneous transactions and a simple way of detecting potential fraud. According to our data, health systems do NOT use a PO on an average of 69% of transactions.* What is 3-way Matching? The three-way matching process is part of the procure to pay process (P2P) performed by the Accounts Payable (AP) department before paying invoices. AP cross-references the data in a PO, receipt records/logs, and invoice. Then, if all data on all three documents match up, the invoice is paid. If […]
November 30, 2022
Procure-to-pay (P2P) processes comprise various smaller processes that all lead to acquiring and purchasing goods for a health system at the most advantageous price. Purchasing and paying for items seems simple, but in large health systems and hospitals spanning various departments and locations, the process easily breaks down. It only takes one error or process gap in any part of the P2P process to have upstream and downstream consequences for all parties involved in the P2P ecosystem: Finance/Accounts Payable (AP), Supply Chain, Vendors, and the End-User. What is the Procure to Pay Process? The procure to pay process typically begins […]
September 16, 2022
To truly reap the benefits of spend data, health systems must take action to clean and structure all procure to pay (P2P) data. Follow the steps outlined below to gain true visibility at your hospital. How to Increase Spend Visibility Step 1: Identify All Sources of Data One of the largest challenges hindering health systems from reaching clear spend visibility is the multiple data sources. Identifying all data sources necessary to gain true insight into spend fuels the analysis and decision-making process throughout procure to pay (P2P) processes. Data Sources for Spend Visibility ERP System Contracts Dark data sources […]
