Wow! It was great to be at HIMSS this week! The booths were full and the convention floor was bustling with activity. For the most part, masks were off and it was so nice to reconnect with the friends and colleagues that we’ve only seen on Zoom for the past two years. Lots of smiles, hugs and handshakes all around. However, note to the conference organizers…maybe pick a week in Orlando that is NOT spring break.

There were lots of really interesting presentations and information sharing happening all week. The most innovative presentation that I heard was from VisiQuate’s own Anthony Comfort, who introduced the concept of CRISPR for revenue cycle operations. Wait, what does genome editing have to do with revenue cycle? Well, as it turns out-a lot actually.

So what is CRISPR? CRISPR is a powerful tool for editing genomes. CRISPR aims to do this by acting like a pair of molecular scissors snipping and rearranging genetic sequences in order for humans to make evolutionary steps in weeks, not epochs. This allows the ability to easily alter DNA sequences and modify gene function. It has many potential applications, including correcting genetic defects, treating and preventing the spread of diseases, and improving revenue cycle efficiency. Obviously, the technology also raises some ethical concerns (in some applications, way more than others).

The Revenue Cycle is a genome composed of genetic expressions in the form of processes, policies, and systems. Humans are like the cells that read the genome and take action based on the instructions stored in Revenue Cycle DNA. Taking control of and understanding your data is like decoding the genome. CRISPR offers the ability to leapfrog the evolutionary timetable by modifying genetic sequences- a process that typically takes 1000s of years. Like the human evolutionary process, Revenue Cycles are slow to change too. What if you had the CRISPR equivalent in the Revenue Cycle? What if Revenue Cycles could be reformed surgically and in real-time as new environmental pressures are exerted and make it challenging for them to run efficiently?

Taking control of your data to achieve peak business health isn’t easy. Having a strategy for pulling together data into a single location or even a data warehousing strategy isn’t enough. We need to move beyond rows and columns and cubes to think about information frameworks. In other words, we need to be thinking about cultivating gene sequences.
Patterns of genes or patterns of data that give you a piece of information that you
can use to make decisions that will improve the efficiency and accuracy of your revenue cycle operations. Moving to the use of a digital twin and crowd sourced intelligence is the path to success in the future.

Interested in learning more? The team at VisiQuate is focusing on how we can help hospitals optimize their revenue cycle management. Visit our Revenue Cycle Playbook for step-by-step plays to help you stay on top of the ever-changing landscape of healthcare revenue cycle, or contact us to schedule a demo.

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