Revenue cycle optimization in health care institutions. A conceptual framework for change management

Health care providers in the United States are constantly faced with the enormous challenge of optimizing their revenue cycle to improve their overall financial performance. These challenges keep evolving in both scope and complexity owing to a host of internal and external factors. Furthermore, given the lack of control that health care providers have over external factors, any attempt to successfully optimize the revenue cycle hinges on several critical improvements aimed at realigning the internal factors. This study provides an integrated change management model that aims to reengineer and realign the people-process-technology framework by using the principles of lean and Six Sigma for revenue cycle optimization.