Will RAC change RCM? Hospital leaders are gearing up for the potential of RAC audits to impact the revenue cycle...

Hospital leaders making headway in anticipating the potential impact of possible RAC audits under the Medicare program are examining their revenue cycle management programs and making those RCM programs more rigorous and specific. Hospitals with experience in the early federal RAC audit demonstration project have accumulated numerous learnings from their participation in the early demo project. One clear learning has been the significant financial impact of going through a RAC audit. CIOs will need to work closely and productively with CFOs, health information management professionals, and others, in order to drill down to the levels at which revenue cycle management programs needto be examined in order to strengthen their effectiveness.