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Article: Back to basics: collecting accounts receivable. (column)
- Article from:
- Healthcare Financial Management
- Article date:
- December 1, 1990
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1990 Healthcare Financial Management Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Back to basics: Collecting accounts receivable
As a corporate staff representative for a national healthcare system, I often am asked, "What makes the difference between hospitals that are successful and those that are not?" My answer is: "Management that understands and applies the basics."
The ability to apply the basics is absolutely essential to accounts receivable management. For some hospitals, gross receivables account for more than 20 percent of assets.
Receivables have been growing at an alarming rate. According to HFMA's Financial Analysis Service data, days in accounts receivable increased from 69.9 days in 1986 to 77.3 in 1989. ...