By Patsy Newitt

Speed is becoming a revenue cycle differentiator for physician practices, and Encoda’s “The state of financial health” survey, shows many practices still can’t see issues early enough to prevent downstream leakage.

The survey collected insights from 84 physician practice leaders, primarily from independently or physician-owned organizations. More than half of respondents work in single-specialty practices, while 44% are in multispecialty practices.

Here are six things to know:

1. Detection is slow for many practices. Half of practices take more than a week to detect and address revenue cycle issues or become aware only after financial damage has occurred.

2. Real-time monitoring is the exception. Just 4% can detect and respond to revenue cycle anomalies in real time.

3. Only 15% can detect or respond within one to two days, and only 19% can detect or respond within two days.

4. Reporting itself is expensive. Nearly one-third (32%) of practices spend over $5,000 per month on reporting alone

5. Operational barriers are structural and common. Here are the top barriers to accessing financial metrics:

- Data is spread across multiple systems: 45%

- Lack of real-time visibility into metrics: 38%

- Technology limitations like outdated systems and reporting tools: 37%

- Limited staff or resources: 37%

- Lack of insight from limited data or unclear metrics: 26%

6. Here’s how often practices revisit financial goals:

- Monthly: 25%

- Quarterly: 46%

- Annually: 21%

- Only when problems arise: 6%

- Rarely or never: 1%