To provide the best possible patient care, today's healthcare providers must continually invest in innovative equipment, software and services. To remain a step ahead in the increasingly competitive healthcare industry, providers must also stand ready to pursue acquisitions that offer their organizations the best opportunities for long-term growth. These and other ongoing challenges are made even more intense by recent cutbacks in reimbursements, constantly changing government regulations and ever-increasing insurance premiums. To meet these needs, most providers say that cash flow represents the greatest roadblock. In fact, improving cash flow and shortening revenue cycles was listed as a top priority by three out of every four respondents in a recent survey of 500 healthcare provider CFOs and financial managers. For most providers, the solutions for meeting these priorities do not necessarily start with the myriad technologies and equipment that their respective organizations provide. Instead, the key to finding the answer to their challenges should begin with:
* Obtaining a firm understanding of how they manage daily operations
* Identifying areas where they can improve efficiencies
* Establishing a credible means to balancing the cost of improving processes with existing sources of revenue