Leverage the Criteria Black Book Research Uses to Select the Best Outsourced RCM Services Provider for Your Organization

Although diagnostic organizations continue to improve in their ability to make decisions regarding outsourcing revenue cycle management (RCM), many may still benefit from guidance on the most impactful decision criteria. Black Book Research conducts an annual study to understand how diagnostic leaders perceive service providers across 18 operational excellence key performance indicators. The 2021 Black Book Market Research “Diagnostic/Laboratory Support and Revenue Cycle Management Outsourcing” report provides a host of valuable information from the customer’s perspective.¹

In this first post of the series, we start by investigating the key decision criteria for capabilities related to technology and infrastructure. There are five important capabilities evaluated by Black Book in this category:

1. Strategic alignment of vendor services to customer goals
2. Innovation
3. Reliability
4. Technology
5. Cost savings and cost avoidance

Black Book evaluated outsourced diagnostic/laboratory RCM services vendors on each of these criteria as reflected by customer feedback through an annual Black Book market research survey. Research participants were asked to rate vendors by asking several specific questions in each of the five technology and infrastructure-related capabilities.

For example, vendors in each of the technology and infrastructure categories were evaluated. Survey participants were asked to rate outsourced RCM vendors on the following two statements to evaluate the strategic alignment of vendor services to customer goals:

On this criteria, vendors whose mean score was greater than 9.00  demonstrate that  the outsourced RCM services and related customer experience is aligned with helping them achieve their goals. Top vendors are those that  scored very well (mean > 9.49) on reliability , best-of-breed technology and process improvement , and innovation . These scores reinforce their focus on providing a stable infrastructure while pushing the envelope in terms of providing the enhancements and process improvements their customers deem to be most important.

Finally, in the technology and infrastructure-related criteria, survey participants evaluated value adds related to cost savings and cost avoidance. Research participants rated vendors on the following dimensions, on which XiFin scored 9.61 out of 10:

• Cost savings are realized as estimated
• Vendor offers value-adds to improve cost savings and support cost avoidance initiatives
• Outsourced RCM services provider helps achieve business transformation

We are proud that our customers see the value of our services across this broad range of capabilities from aligning our services with their goals, providing reliable, innovative services based on a solid foundation of best-in-class, technology, and delivering on the expected cost savings.

The Black Book Research report highlights the advantages of RCM outsourcing while assessing the performance of leading outsourced service providers. The report underscores that while organizations are doing a better job understanding the potential of outsourcing, and even selecting vendors, managing those relationships successfully continues to be a substantial hurdle for many laboratories and other diagnostic providers. The Black Book Research team makes it clear that leaders need to use clinical, financial and operational performance indicators to successfully evaluate the performance of and manage their outsourced services vendors. Objective research reports, like that of Black Book Market Research is a key to sharing data that comes directly from industry peers.

Download the full 2021 Black Book Market Research “Diagnostic/Laboratory Support and Revenue Cycle Management Outsourcing” report.

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¹ BLACK BOOK™ TOP OUTSOURCED LABORATORY REVENUE CYCLE MANAGEMENT VENDORS, Black Book Research, LLC, Survey Period: Q4 2020 – Q3 2021 | Published: October 2021