HFMA roundtable. Provider tips for moving to electronic payment receipt and reconciliation

Highly fragmented manual processes for posting and reconciling payments generate significant administrative costs and fees for providers. Transitioning these paper-based processes to electronic ones has the potential to save as much as $35 billion and 2.5 billion pieces of paper annually by some estimates. To realize such benefits, providers are searching for new opportunities to eliminate paper from the revenue cycle, especially in payment and reconciliation. In this roundtable discussion, sponsored by Emdeon Business Services, senior financial executives from several hospitals and a university-based physicians' practice association share practical advice for managing concerns such as obtaining accurate remittance data, linking payment information to corresponding remittance details, and training staff to manage electronic processes.