Holistic Healthcare Finance Automation

Healthcare accounts payable automation refers to tools and technology that streamline accounts payable (AP) processes within a healthcare organisation (like a hospital, clinic, or medical practise).  

Healthcare AP systems reduce manual intervention, minimise errors, enhance financial controls, and strengthen patient care. Key aspects include:

• Payment automation: Facilitates electronic payment methods like Automated Clearing House (ACH), wire transfers, and virtual credit cards to optimise cash flow.
• Automated invoice processing: Invoice data capture, data extraction with optical character recognition (OCR), and validation of invoice data against purchase orders and contracts.
• Workflow automation: Approval process and workflows with predefined rules, automatic notifications, and alerts to stakeholders. 
• Compliance and security: Ensures compliance with industry regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and creates audit trails for all transactions.
• Analytics and reporting: Detailed financial reports, including AP ageing, payment forecasts, and spend analysis.

A healthcare AP automation solution will also integrate with existing ERPs and procurement systems, providing real-time synchronisation and updates of financial data across various medical platforms.

The cost of AP automation per invoice for healthcare companies will depend on many factors, such as the volume of supplier invoices processed, the level of customisation required, and the integrations needed by the AP department.

A per-invoice fee usually covers the costs associated with invoice scanning, data extraction, validation, and electronic storage.

Some automation software providers offer volume-based pricing, where the per-invoice cost decreases as the volume of invoices increases. This software can benefit larger healthcare providers that process a high volume of invoices or smaller firms growing quickly.

Additional costs to consider include:

• Subscription fees on a monthly or annual basis
• Implementation costs, which include initial setup and integrations
• Inclusion of advanced features like analytics and custom workflows

Tipalti is an advanced AP automation solution that offers several features tailored to the needs of the healthcare industry. 

Comprehensive Automation

Tipalti offers end-to-end automation for the entire AP process, from execution to payment processing and reconciliation. Advanced OCR captures accurate invoice data, allowing a business to process invoices quickly and efficiently. It eliminates manual data entry and the use of paper invoices and paper cheques.

Compliance and Risk Management

The Tipalti solution ensures compliance within the healthcare industry, including data privacy and security requirements like HIPAA. Systems like this are crucial for protecting sensitive financial and patient data. Tipalti also includes features to detect and prevent fraud, such as vendor verification and audit trails.

Global Capabilities

For healthcare organisations with international suppliers and partners, Tipalti is a great option. It offers multi-currency and multi-payment methods, including ACH, wire transfers, and virtual cards. It also helps healthcare companies manage global tax compliance by automating form collection and validation.

Seamless Integrations

Tipalti seamlessly integrates with leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and can be easily connected to electronic health record (EHR) platforms. It ensures an efficient and unified workflow across all clinical and financial operations and offers robust application programming interface (API) access for custom integrations. 

Additional Benefits

• Enhanced visibility and control with comprehensive reporting and custom dashboards
• Built to scale with your organisation, making it suitable for healthcare providers of all sizes, from small clinics to large hospitals
• Dedicated customer support to assist with implementation, troubleshooting, and ongoing management of the AP system

Healthcare organisations can significantly benefit from AP automation in numerous ways. Here are some of the key benefits:

• Increased efficiency: Reduces manual processes and inefficiencies, speeding up invoice processing and payment cycles.
• Improved accuracy: Automated validation and verification processes enhance data accuracy and consistency.
• Cost savings: Minimises errors and discrepancies, reducing the fees associated with late payments, penalties, and processing costs for manual payments.
• Better vendor relationships: Leads to timely payments and offers self-service portals to empower suppliers.
• Greater compliance: Ensures adherence to regulatory requirements and internal policies, reducing non-compliance risk.
• Enhanced visibility: Provides real-time visibility into financial transactions, improving financial planning and cash flow management.

By leveraging AP automation tools, healthcare providers and AP teams streamline time-consuming financial operations, reduce administrative burdens, and better focus their resources on delivering quality patient care.

Healthcare accounts payable automation significantly improves invoice processing efficiency, using some of these functions:

• Automated invoice processing: This speeds up the invoice process with OCR, data capture, and machine learning (ML) algorithms that extract essential information. It also reduces manual data entry and creates a paperless process.
• Streamlined invoice approval: Accounting software routes invoices through predefined approval workflows based on rules and thresholds, ensuring invoices are promptly sent to the right person for review with less time wasted. 
• Real-time tracking and visibility: Immediate tracking of invoice statuses allows staff to monitor invoice progress through the processing cycle, helping to identify and resolve bottlenecks quickly.
• Efficient payment processing: Automation facilitates electronic payments like ACH transfers, wire transfers, and virtual credit cards. Scheduling ensures timely payments, optimises cash flow, reduces administrative burden, and adds to your bottom line.

Additional Factors

• Reduced errors and improved accuracy
• Data-driven insights and advanced reporting
• Real-time sync with existing ERP systems

Yes, you can connect AP systems to electronic medical records (EMR) or EHR systems, allowing you to streamline financial workflows and increase efficiency, data accuracy, and financial management. 

How can you connect AP to EHR/EMR systems?

• Use middleware: This will facilitate communication between two different systems.
• API integration: Modern systems typically have APIs that enable real-time integration.
• Custom integration: These solutions can be developed to meet specific business needs.
• ERP solutions: Some ERP solutions provide healthcare management and AP modules.

Data import: Import/export functions can be used if integration is inaccessible.