The worldwide revenue cycle management (RCM) market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13 % to USD 258.16 billion by 2027, up from USD 96.27 billion in 2019. The increasing patient populations and the rising necessity to handle unstructured healthcare information are driving the expansion of this industry. Increasing regulatory regulations and government efforts are also likely to fuel market growth in the RCM market throughout the forecast period.

The process of identification, management, and collection of revenue from patient services, as well as its administration through the generation of revenue and processing of claims, is known as RCM.

The expansion of government measures to stimulate the use of revenue cycle management solutions, the growing drop in revenue owing to billing mistakes, and process optimization in healthcare companies are all contributing to the industry’s growth.

Impact of the Coronavirus on the RCM Market

The increased incidence of the Coronavirus has had a significant influence on the global economy, as well as on the healthcare industry. That is due to an increase in the number of COVID-positive individuals and a shortage of hospital wards and specialists. Government-imposed lockdowns in various nations have resulted in significant financial damage for most enterprises since they could not work from their homes. Those who did work at home, on the other hand, made a pittance.

Because many instances were undiagnosed and did not seek testing, the actual incidence of infected persons was significantly higher than the stated total. Although most countries’ illness development trends are similar, the reduction in cases was primarily the result of the diverse actions implemented by every nation.

To combat the disease’s spread, countries have undertaken various measures, including stringent travel restrictions, quarantines, lockdowns, the construction of specialty hospitals, increased medical help, and increased COVID-19 testing.

Increased Growth Due to Adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR)

The growing advent of imaginative notions in the health industry, such as EHR and other solutions, is a significant factor driving global revenue cycle management. That, combined with the fantastic array of IT solutions supplied by RCMs, like intelligence tools, powerful predictive data analytics, and computerized patient gathering systems, will help the industry grow.

Budget restrictions connected with the deployment of revenue cycle management systems, particularly for small-scale hospitals and practitioner’s offices, could, on the other hand, be a significant impediment to the industry’s growth. Nonetheless, final-user financial management complications have spurred market demand for medical billing and coding services, resulting in considerable growth potential for the revenue cycle management industry in the future years.

Domination of the Market by North America

North America’s market remained dominant in 2019, with a valuation of USD 52.01 billion. That is indicative of the influence of several players in the United States, as well as the rollout of creative technologies and the establishment of research centers.

Europe ranks second, with its growth attributed to a spike in the volume of entrepreneurship development and the advancement of fintech. However, due to improved medical infrastructure and increased use of RCM as software services, the Asia Pacific market is forecasted to rise at the quickest rate.

Furthermore, due to the progressive arrival of modern medical technology, the healthcare industry in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East will rise gradually.

Direction of Focus towards Provision of End-to-End Services

The Cerner Corporation now has the lion’s share of the RCM market. That is due to the firm’s effective RCM services, which take into account the institution’s productivity, performance, and budgetary needs.

For effective management services to the clients, the firm also concentrates on patient payments, billing, healthcare records, denial administration, as well as patient access. It will be able to maintain its market dominance in the following years due to the above considerations.

Rise in Demand of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

By using ML algorithms as well as data modeling to minimize drug development times, offer virtual support to patients, and diagnose ailments faster using images, the potent mixture of data and AI has the capacity to boost outcomes and lower costs.

The capacity of AI to optimize medical and non-medical procedures, consequently solving a myriad of issues for patients, clinicians, and the health sector as a whole, is driving its use in the healthcare industry. Through the use of AI, laborious and repetitious processes such as coding, billing, patient access, collections, and rejections may be automated.

By emulating smart human behavior via algorithms that discover trends and prepare future decisions to generate a favorable outcome, AI combined with RCM may accomplish these duties more accurately.

High Implementation Cost of RCM Solutions

The expense of keeping RCM software up to date is rather significant. Furthermore, IT assistance and upkeep services, which also include updating and modernizing software to meet changing user needs and ensuring a reliable IT network, are recurrent costs. This makes up a significant portion of the overall ownership costs.

Additionally, to assure solution integrity and thoroughness, post-sale proprietary interface creation for integration of devices necessitates extra testing and validation. The overall cost of possession for medical providers will rise even more due to this. Smaller healthcare institutions, particularly in emerging nations, are hesitant to switch their outdated methods to RCM technologies due to their high costs.

Summing Up

RCM is the governance of any and all clinical and administrative processes that provide patient services and contribute explicitly or implicitly to earnings to enhance profitability.

Demand is being driven up by regulatory frameworks and policy initiatives that are expected to promote future market growth. Technological developments in the creation of less-expensive commodities are also likely to boost growth.

Furthermore, increased convergence among enterprises that supply end-to-end services, as well as AI-based desire for revenue cycle management solutions, are fueling a slew of prospects that will drive the revenue cycle management market ahead throughout the forecast period.

However, the adoption of revenue cycle management systems, particularly in the healthcare industry, is likely to be hampered by a shortage of qualified personnel and innovative technology. Expensive acquisition and maintenance costs, IT facility limits in growing markets, and information security and privacy concerns are a couple of minor roadblocks to the RCM market’s growth.

Also Read: What Impact Will Artificial Intelligence Have on Medical Billing and Coding