Although most of the media attention given to healthcare reform legislation has focused on its anticipated effects in the marketplace, reform will have an effect on hospital costing systems as well. Costing systems will have to be redesigned, repositioned, and re-implemented as providers create new, innovative organizational structures and relationships to capture market opportunities, update transactional systems, and make decisions based on data that went relatively unexamined before.

Because the majority of legislated reforms do not kick in for three more years, the need for change may feel far away. As time ticks by, however, accounting staffs likely will face many competing demands in an era of reform. That’s why it is essential to assess the potential impact of reform on hospital costing systems now, focusing on five specific actions that can help ensure that the organization is ready to adapt to change.

Continued on hfma.org