Cerner Sells Revenue Cycle Management Outsourcing Arm

EHR giant Cerner is shedding its revenue cycle management outsourcing services, according to a recent announcement.

In the announcement earlier today, revenue cycle management technology company R1 RCM Inc. revealed that it will acquire Cerner RevWorks services business and commercial, non-federal client relationships.

Expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, the acquisition will enable Cerner and R1 to integrate the revenue cycle management company’s technology-enabled services platform into Cerner’s software and extend R1’s revenue cycle capabilities and expertise to Cerner clients and new prospects. R1 will also offer RevWorks associates positions at R1.

“Cerner’s overall goal is to deliver client success and accelerate our ability to deliver scalable innovations,” Brenna Quinn, senior vice president of revenue cycle management at Cerner, said in the announcement. “We’re focused on having the right strategies, powerful and proven platforms, world-class talent, and partners like R1 to meet these goals.”

R1’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer Gary Long added that the acquisition of Cerner RevWorks will also drive “superior results for healthcare providers and the communities they serve.”

“With our interoperable technology and end-to-end platform, we are well-positioned to serve Cerner’s customers, as well as other healthcare organizations across the country,” Long stated.

Cerner RevWorks offers revenue cycle management outsourcing services to hospitals, but the product has suffered from major setbacks as of late.

A 2019 market report from KLAS found that 70 percent of interviewed providers using the outsourcing service and other extended business office offerings from Cerner would not purchase the services again. Providers told KLAS that they were dissatisfied with the services, saying the resources were oversold, inexpert, and slow to work on outstanding claims.

The following year, Cerner RevWorks lost one of the largest health systems as a client. AdventHealth announced in February that it was replacing both its Cerner revenue cycle management and EHR services with an integrated platform from Cerner’s chief competitor, Epic. The health system reportedly decided to make the switch after quality issues with Cerner’s revenue cycle management services. AdventHealth did not confirm the allegations in its announcement.

Other hospitals have also reported troubles with the revenue cycle management outsourcing services, with a New York hospital claiming publicly that product malfunctions resulted in over $38 million in financial losses. The hospital eventually settled the allegations with Cerner.

Customer reviews of Cerner RevWorks have improved in the last year, as providers told KLAS in another report that the company had improved relationships with its clients. However, the providers continued to report a lack of tangible financial outcome improvements.

In a statement emailed to RevCycleIntelligence, a Cerner spokesperson stated that the R1 acquisition of RevWorks will “bring our commercial, non-federal clients a total solution that pairs Cerner’s advanced technology with R1’s world-class revenue services, ultimately optimizing financial performance for health systems.”

The spokesperson also stated that, “Cerner remains committed to and heavily invested in its revenue cycle solutions to help our clients combine clinical, financial and operational health information when and where it’s needed.”

The companies did not disclose the terms of the acquisition in the announcement.