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February 27, 2023
Account Payable (AP) gets the “short end of the stick” in health systems’ procure to pay (P2P) process. AP is often left resolving exceptions, rushing last-minute payment requests, and struggling to keep the hospital off vendor credit hold. AP corrects upstream P2P mistakes, resulting in more work and backlogs and reducing efficiency. However, many AP departments fail to use one of the most powerful tools available – today we will discuss the benefits of a recovery audit. Despite recovery audits often having a bad reputation, TAG’s Discovery Review complements AP and Supply Chain departments. We work as an extension of […]
January 20, 2023
Nonprofit health systems and hospitals will take years to recover from the effects the pandemic has on their labor force, cash flow, and supplies. In fact, high labor and supply costs are adding unprecedented debt to hospitals leaving one health system reporting their debt as high as $6.34 billion in December 2022. However, 2023 is projected to relieve some of the strain on health system finances, but may be too little too late for many rural hospitals at risk of immediate closure and leaving other hospitals cutting services and workforce numbers. As healthcare leaders look to rein in spending while […]
December 27, 2022
Veering from the 3-way matching process by not using a purchase order (PO) puts health systems at risk of erroneous transactions and a simple way of detecting potential fraud. According to our data, health systems do NOT use a PO on an average of 69% of transactions.* What is 3-way Matching? The three-way matching process is part of the procure to pay process (P2P) performed by the Accounts Payable (AP) department before paying invoices. AP cross-references the data in a PO, receipt records/logs, and invoice. Then, if all data on all three documents match up, the invoice is paid. If […]
November 30, 2022
Procure-to-pay (P2P) processes comprise various smaller processes that all lead to acquiring and purchasing goods for a health system at the most advantageous price. Purchasing and paying for items seems simple, but in large health systems and hospitals spanning various departments and locations, the process easily breaks down. It only takes one error or process gap in any part of the P2P process to have upstream and downstream consequences for all parties involved in the P2P ecosystem: Finance/Accounts Payable (AP), Supply Chain, Vendors, and the End-User. What is the Procure to Pay Process? The procure to pay process typically begins […]
September 16, 2022
To truly reap the benefits of spend data, health systems must take action to clean and structure all procure to pay (P2P) data. Follow the steps outlined below to gain true visibility at your hospital. How to Increase Spend Visibility Step 1: Identify All Sources of Data One of the largest challenges hindering health systems from reaching clear spend visibility is the multiple data sources. Identifying all data sources necessary to gain true insight into spend fuels the analysis and decision-making process throughout procure to pay (P2P) processes. Data Sources for Spend Visibility ERP System Contracts Dark data sources […]
August 29, 2022
Insight into spend visibility is essential for decision-making within finance and supply chain in health systems. Clear spend visibility provides information for leaders to make supply decisions, evaluate their procure to pay processes and gain insight into usage and product waste. The benefits of spend visibility are endless, but health systems and hospitals struggling to gain true visibility. Learn why your health system leaders need spend visibility now with part one of this series. Read now. Why Health Systems Struggle to Gain True Spend Visibility Disparate Data. Health systems create and hold a large volume of data from various sources […]
July 26, 2022
How much can finance and supply chain leaders gain from spend visibility benefits? The answer is almost endless, but it comes down to better decision-making. When data, especially dark data, takes on the form of graphs and diagrams, leaders obtain insights rather than simply numbers filled in columns and rows. Suddenly it turns into potential fraudulent vendors, quality-controlled vendors, and an equitable, diverse vendor mix. With this information, leaders can make decisions to increase buying power, reduce reliance on any single supplier, and improve the organization’s patient outcomes. What is Spend Visibility? Comprehensive data analysis of spend data tells the […]
June 28, 2022
Health systems lose millions each year due to process inefficiencies and errors throughout the procure to pay (P2P) process. Most of these lost funds are preventable, but teams are content, in a state of denial, or misunderstand the process. To bring awareness and begin to prevent leaking dollars, begin by creating a procure to pay process map. What is Process Mapping? Process mapping, or process flow mapping, is the visual representation of how tasks are actually completed in a workflow. A process map brings visibility to who is involved in a process and sheds light on areas that need improvement. […]
May 17, 2022
Thousands of suppliers are actively utilized in every health system often managed by a limited amount of staff. That’s why organizations must create a centralized contract repository in order to properly manage their contracts and set their Supply Chain up for automation and success. What is a contract repository? A contract repository is simply a central location housing all vendor contracts a health system uses. As a core component of a successful contract management system, the repository must collect and consolidate ALL contracts including local and GPO contracts. The system containing the repository must be able to store the data […]
