More than 80% of survey respondents stated that they have confidence in their organization's ability to "rapidly adjust their plans and strategies."
Healthcare finance leaders are more optimistic about the ability to adjust to a changing business environment and utilize quality data in the decision-making process, according to the 2021 Healthcare Financial Trends Survey report released by Syntellis Performance Solutions Monday morning.
More than 80% of survey respondents stated that they have confidence in their organization's ability to "rapidly adjust their plans and strategies." This metric is up from 24% of respondents who expressed confidence in 2019.
Nearly 90% of respondents stated that clinical quality data and insights are "important or very important" to performance reporting initiatives.
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The budgeting process has also changed for healthcare organizations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic: 12% of respondents now use rolling forecasts and nearly 60% stated that their organizations will make rolling forecasts a priority.
"In 2020, healthcare finance teams did a remarkable thing," Kermit S. Randa, CEO at Syntellis Performance Solutions, said in a statement. "They reinvented processes and adopted new capabilities like rolling forecasting and ad hoc scenario modeling to manage finances during the most complex storm of variables in recent history. These teams have also discovered how critical data-driven insights are for reporting to stakeholders on the financial health of the business and the status of major initiatives, something Syntellis is proud to help them deliver."
Related: In 2021, Healthcare Leaders See Lingering Challenges and New Opportunities
Eighty-two percent of respondents stated that cost containment is "very important" to help their respective organizations "maintain or rebuild their fiscal health."
Other notable findings from the report are that two-thirds of respondents admitted that they need to do more to "leverage financial and operational data to inform strategic decisions" and that nearly a quarter of respondents still use spreadsheets for the budgeting process.
Related: Proactive Healthcare Financial Strategies for Forward-looking Leaders
Jack O'Brien is the Content Team Lead and Finance Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.