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March 19, 2020
90% of the data that your health system produces is dark data that never gets used. Think of the knowledge and insight that could be realized if your Supply Chain and AP departments utilized more than 10% of their data. You could gain insight into efficiencies, root causes of leaked funds, and process gaps. This is information your company already has but lacks the resources to obtain. What is dark data? According to Gartner, dark data is the information assets organizations collect, process, and store during regular business activities, but generally fail to use for other purposes. Put simply, dark […]
January 10, 2020
2020 is expected to be another year of transition for healthcare providers as systems continue to evolve through mergers and acquisitions (M&A), restructures, and strategic shifting of resources. These types of transitions affect every aspect of a health system’s business operations, including the entire Procure-to-Pay (P2P) landscape. As hospitals continually attempt to do more with less, increasing efficiencies within the financial segments of the organization is becoming more crucial than ever. Moody’s Investor Relations reports a stable outlook for the not-for-profit and public healthcare sector, indicating further expansions through M&A’s. Coupling the M&A generated gain in negotiating power over insurers […]
August 15, 2018
Healthcare systems have hundreds of individual contracts and pricing agreements to manage during any given billing cycle. Despite the best efforts of purchasing and pharmacy departments, difficulties often arise in ensuring accurate prices are paid for on all products and services. Contract overcharges, discrepancies between PO and invoice terms, duplicate vendor payments and other issues are common among health systems without proper payment processes in place. The Correct Payment Process To ensure your health system is paying the correct amount for every order involves following a three-step process: Determine the correct price and most favorable terms before the order is […]
July 10, 2018
Your health system is only as good as the processes you put in place. You may have an all-star accounts payable department, but unless they know the process inside and out, they won’t be working to their full potential. Our experience in healthcare auditing shows us that not nearly enough hospitals are dedicating adequate time to process mapping, potentially costing them thousands in faulty transactions, missed credits and more. What is process mapping in healthcare? Process mapping refers to the practice of analyzing each and every step of a given function in a hospital. In our area of expertise, we […]
June 26, 2018
We explained contract overcharges and how they could cost your health system several thousand dollars in lost funds. Today, we’re talking about prevention and recovery. In order to prevent contract overcharges, it’s important to understand your system’s relationship with vendors and analyze your purchasing and payment data as often as possible. Let’s take a look. What causes contract overcharges? When a hospital contract is put in place, there should be a match between three areas: the contract, the GPO/Local Pricing platform and the health systems’ purchasing system. That way, items are priced at the guaranteed rate every time they’re ordered […]
June 20, 2018
The 340B Drug Discount Program offers qualified hospitals deeply discounted rates on drugs, but many aren’t using the program to its maximum benefit. A 340B pricing analysis from an experienced healthcare auditor can reveal several errors in your drug pricing and prevent you from leaving money on the table. Let’s take a look. 340B Program Challenges Just because your health system is eligible for 340B doesn’t mean it’s a turnkey process. The government and drug manufacturers adjust the pricing guidelines for 340B products every quarter, keeping back-office teams on their toes to update each item’s pricing as needed. That creates […]
June 6, 2018
It’s true for individuals as well as multi-million-dollar health systems: it pays to shop smart. Hospitals are constantly purchasing supplies and equipment to support their operations and everything from cotton swabs to x-ray machines presents an opportunity to save money. At The Audit Group, we perform comprehensive purchase analyses to drive efficiencies and deliver savings. How does TAG analyze hospital purchasing? Purchasing boils down to three components: frequency, size, and price. Our team analyzes your system’s purchasing needs over time to identify areas where one or more of these can create savings. Here’s an example of how changing an item’s […]
