Briefs: Hospitals say electronic claims could save millions

Publication Date: March 23, 2006
Advisen -- Healthcare
Source: Pittsburgh Tribune Review

"Half of U.S. hospital executives say they could save as much as $10 million a year and cut patients' costs if more insurance claims were handled electronically, a study found. While electronic fund transfers have been around for decades, only about a third of U.S. insurance companies use them, most preferring to pay hospitals by check, said PNC Financial Services Group Inc. spokeswoman Paula Fryland. Few hospitals have synched their payment systems with those of their insurers, said PNC, which commissioned the study. 'Hospitals are essentially operating like a student doing a term paper for five different professors, some who want it single-spaced, others who want it double-spaced,' Fryland said. Americans spent $571 billion on hospital care in 2004, according to a study published last month in Health Affairs. About half of insurers process hospitals' claims electronically, and a third pay that way, according to PNC, which surveyed 150 hospital, insurance and health system executives..."