Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1546043
23 RCM LEADER ADVERTISINGINDEX Note: Ad page number(s) given in parentheses Athenahealth Inc. athenahealth.com (pgs. 9-12) Pfizer. pfizer.com (pg. 24) Culture, governance drive revenue cycle transformation beyond technology By Andrew Cass A rtificial intelligence and automation are critical tools as health systems look to drive improvements in their revenue cycle, but transformation requires more than what technology alone can solve. Paul LePage, vice president of revenue cycle at Sacramento, Calif.- based UC Davis Health, said he sees culture, alignment and behavior as areas where "technology can enable, but not lead." UC Davis Health is focused on front-end optimization and accountability — standardizing eligibility verification, prior authorization workflows and point-of-service collections to prevent downstream leakage. Mr. LePage said a major initiative has been denial prevention through root-cause mapping, aligning clinical, coding and payer-facing teams around the "denial story" rather than treating denials as isolated events. Mr. LePage said the revenue cycle department has also invested in workforce redesign, including organization structure paired with clear productivity and quality benchmarks. He also said the department is "tightening payer contract management and escalation pathways to ensure we're enforcing terms consistently and not passively absorbing avoidable write-offs." True denial reduction, he said, requires cross-functional ownership between clinical operations, case management and revenue cycle, "which is fundamentally a governance and accountability issue." Staff engagement and capability building also remain critical, as even the best tools fail without teams that understand payer nuance, documentation requirements and escalation strategies, Mr. LePage said. He also said that physician alignment around documentation integrity and medical necessity is a persistent gap, and closing it requires "trust, education and sometimes difficult conversations, not just better systems." Tampa, Fla.-based Moffitt Cancer Center also sees the importance of culture in revenue cycle improvement. "We are intentionally focusing on people, leadership, and culture as foundational drivers of revenue cycle transformation, recognizing that sustainable improvement requires more than technology alone," said Lynn Ansley, Moffitt's vice president of revenue cycle management. A cornerstone of that effort is Moffitt's Revenue Cycle Leadership Academy, which has a strong emphasis on leading through change. Leadership development, she said, is directly connected to real operational work, ensuring that change leadership is applied, not theoretical. Moffitt is also investing in enterprisewide cultural alignment through its Revenue Cycle Energy Bus series, inspired by the book e Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy by Jon Gordon. e initiative "creates a shared language and mindset across our entire revenue cycle, reinforcing one shared purpose," Ms. Ansley said. Together, these initiatives ensure Moffitt's revenue cycle leaders model the right behaviors and its teams "remain energized and aligned behind our mission to optimize reimbursement so Moffitt can find a cure faster." "e greatest opportunities lie in leadership effectiveness, change adoption, and cultural alignment — areas where technology can enable, but not replace, human leadership," she said. "By investing in leadership development and a unifying culture, we create the conditions where technology can truly deliver value — accelerating performance while staying grounded in purpose." n