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WEBINAR - On Tuesday, the American Hospital Association presented a webinar entitled "Beyond the Buzz: Measuring AI's Impact on Health Care Revenue Cycle Management," which focused on the results of a Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Waystar, a revenue cycle management software company.
The study included data from a market survey of more than 300 revenue cycle and IT leaders.
Survey respondents were asked how and where AI is driving meaningful results, why growing trust in AI is accelerating adoption and where healthcare leaders are planning to expand AI investment.
Of the 316 respondents, 34% were from a hospital and health system, while 66% were non-acute providers.
Forty percent of the respondents identified as directors, 28% as managers, 23% as vice presidents and 9% as C-suite executives.
Overall, survey respondents said that AI's measurable outcomes meet and exceed expectations.
Among the key findings, 13% to 36% of respondents said they saw improvement in key revenue cycle-related efforts, while 60% reported having more confidence in AI's support of revenue cycle management (RCM) than when they first adopted the technology.
"As confidence grows, leaders are expanding AI use cases and must be delivered in their approach to ensure that AI is applied where its impact will be greatest," said Christine Fontaine, solution strategist for Waystar and webinar moderator.
Survey respondents said they were optimistic and committed to continued AI investments, with 70% saying they view AI in RCM as a critical organizational priority.
"Leaders are focused on better engaging with payers for reimbursement and deepening relationships with their existing tech partners as they look to implement more AI capabilities, basically embedding it within their existing solutions and not working outside of it," Fontaine said.
Other key findings from the survey showed that AI in RCM has significantly evolved. In less than a year, AI in healthcare payments has moved from potential to priority as providers are investing, integrating and expecting results, according to the survey.
"In September 2024, AI adoption was in early stages with cautious exploration and testing. But by June 2025, AI has become a strategic imperative, deeply integrated into workflows and viewed as essential for operational efficiency and financial performance," said Fontaine.
Data from the survey indicates that AI has delivered tangible RCM improvements including in workforce efficiency (36%), improved denial prevention (27%), improved payment accuracy (18%), improved payment speed (21%), improved patient experience plus collections (37%), improved reporting plus analytics (23%) and improved cash flow (22%).
Additionally, 60% of survey respondents found AI to be more accurate than manual efforts, with 19% finding AI to be "significantly" more accurate.
Finally, when asked about their optimism and commitment to AI investments, the majority of the respondents said that AI is now a key part of their RCM strategies, with 70% of the respondents saying that AI is a high or critical priority, while 90% said they plan to maintain or increase investments in AI for RCM.
