Industry News: 3M Taps Waystar for Revenue Cycle Automation
Healthcare Finance reports that 3M's healthcare division is partnering with Waystar to implement AI automated revenue capture in its over 6,000 health systems and hospitals in the US.
According to the article, 3M will leverage Waystar's predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms to analyze historical data, identifying patterns to pinpoint possible missing charges as well as underpayments and overpayments. It will automatically identify potential incorrect and under-coded claims before they are submitted.
In the news release, Matt Hawkins, CEO of Waystar, shares insights on the partnership:
The healthcare industry has long been marked by administrative waste and inefficiency, said Waystar Chief Executive Officer Matt Hawkins. We are proud to bring artificial intelligence to help 3M clients solve these perennial challenges and take the manual work out of healthcare payments. Through our collaboration, we are now able to combine the best of Waystar's technology with 3M's expertise in organizational change. Together, we will empower health systems and hospitals to prevent revenue loss, operate more efficiently and free up resources for patient care.
Elizabeth Guyton, vice president, 3M Health Information Systems, comments on the benefits of the partnership:
At 3M, we are committed to providing innovative solutions that allow health systems and hospitals to solve their administrative challenges and more effectively capture revenue they're appropriately owed, said Elizabeth Guyton, vice president, 3M Health Information Systems. Our collaboration with Waystar brings together a more comprehensive, end-to-end revenue cycle—from capture to coding to appropriate payment—for our clients.
The partnership reaffirms 3M's affirmative position on how AI technology increases revenue cycle efficiency:
The Larger Trend
This news also reinforces the trend of revenue cycle companies, healthcare systems, and hospitals partnering with technology vendors to leverage their software and expertise to increase efficiency and eliminate laborious tasks. According to Healthcare Finance:
- Revenue integrity remains a top concern for hospital and health system CFOs and revenue executives.
- An estimated 30% of hospitals and health systems require two or more vendors for revenue cycle automation.
- Revenue cycle directors interviewed have said the ROI on automation is through money saved through fewer full-time equivalent positions.
It is clear from the trends noted in Healthcare Finance, along with the news from Waystar and 3M, that revenue cycle continues the push towards adopting AI and machine learning technologies to automate the processing of healthcare payments -- accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.