News: One in four revenue cycle departments needs to hire 20-plus employees, survey shows

According to a recent survey by AKASA, more than 57% of health systems and hospitals have more than 100 open roles to fill. AKASA, the leading developer of AI for healthcare operations, surveyed more than 400 finance leaders and found that one in every four needs to hire more than 20 employees for their revenue cycle departments to be fully staffed. Sixty percent of respondents reported 1–10 vacancies within their team, with 19% reporting 30-plus, 14% reporting 11–20, and 7% reporting 21–30.

“For hospitals, lack of staff within the revenue cycle means you aren’t getting paid,” said Amy Raymond, VP of revenue cycle operations at AKASA. For health finance leaders to better attract talent, she suggested the following measures:

• Relax job requirements (e.g., required years of experience)
• Offer intensive training in healthcare finance
• Invest and upskill current staff to provide more rewarding work
• Ensure that compensation levels are competitive

The survey took responses from 411 chief financial officers and revenue cycle leaders between December 1, 2021, and December 21, 2021, and “was designed to assess the adoption of automation in revenue cycle operations at hospitals and health systems across the U.S.” AKASA reported an increase of 12% in 2021 from 66% to 78% in the use of automation in revenue cycle operations, according to HealthLeaders, but further implementation may be needed to relieve the burden on current staff.

Editor’s Note: To read the coverage of this story by HealthLeaders, click here. To read AKASA’s survey findings, click here.