| | DECEMBER 20228UTLOOKHealthcare Tech IN MY OPINIONFew physicians understand a hospital's revenue cycle. Practicing physicians top priority is patient care, as it should be, and most have little concern how their practice impacts hospital finances. In the era of cost containment, cost consciousness, price transparency and accountable care, physicians need greater awareness of the hospital revenue cycle and healthcare finances in general. Patients are becoming increasingly savvy and their physicians need a basic understanding of hospital finances in order to communicate with them intelligently.When it comes to hospital based revenue cycle and finances, physicians have the greatest control over assigning admission status and diagnosis related group. Though Utilization Management (UM) and Clinical Documentation Integrity (CDI) departments follow criteria and rules regarding these areas, the physician's orders and documentation still drive these decisions. In the last ten years, physician and other healthcare providers are becoming more accustomed and comfortable with this but there is still a large knowledge gap for most providers and institutions. For this reason, it is imperative for intimate physician leadership in the UM and CDI processes. Assuring this will increase physician knowledge of and skill in revenue cycle and decrease the distance between revenue cycle and the bedside.By Anthony Muni, MD, Chief Medical Officer, University HospitalsImportance of Physician leadership inAnthony Muni
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