7 Signs That You Need a More Robust Costing System
Jay Spence, Dan Seargeant, and David Janotha of Kaufman Hall, Axiom EPM's parent company, were recently featured HFMA’s October issue of Healthcare Cost Containment. An excerpt of their article “Healthcare Cost Containment” is below.
As healthcare organizations transition to value-based payment, they need cost-accounting systems that can support their strategic objectives.
Hospitals and health systems increasingly are asked to demonstrate value, as financial returns are being driven less by volume and more by quality, outcomes, and cost. The ability to routinely plan, monitor, and assess clinical, financial, and operational performance organization- wide is critical. Accurate and reliable data should drive planning decisions, and progress should be monitored over time through accurate measures of volume, cost, and profitability trends—both by patient and across clinical service lines.
These capabilities require a robust cost-accounting system that enables organizations to plan for and test the impact of strategic initiatives. Investment in strategic financial planning and decision-support tools as well as con- temporary costing technologies ensures that finance teams can establish efficient processes that maximize the effectiveness and value of costing functions.