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Revenue cycle leaders set sights on improving patient experience

Improving patient experience surpassed increasing revenue for the first time, indicating a shift in revenue cycle strategy in 2026.

Jacqueline LaPointe
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Published: 14 Jan 2026

Revenue cycle leaders and other healthcare finance decision-makers are now prioritizing patient experience improvements just slightly over increasing revenue, according to a new survey.

FinThrive surveyed 100 finance and revenue cycle leaders over the summer for its latest Transformative Trends report. For the first time since the report's launch in 2023, improving patient experience emerged as the top organizational goal for 71% of respondents.

Patient experience has always been top of mind for these revenue cycle management professionals, but not to this extent, and this goal has never surpassed increasing revenue before. The latter was the second most selected organizational goal, with 58% of survey respondents.

Increasing revenue has taken top spot by a landslide in the previous two reports, with a whopping 90% of respondents saying it was the top organizational goal in 2023. Economic instability and downward pressure on operating margins in the wake of the pandemic likely spurred revenue cycle leaders to prioritize revenue at that time.

However, healthcare organizations have generally regained positive margins for the first time since 2020, researchers pointed out. While expenses, payer dynamics and the regulatory landscape remain challenges now, this shift may be prompting leaders to rethink revenue cycle strategy.

"Patient experience is critical to financial health when coupled with an overall reduction of cost to collect," Jake Collins, VP of revenue cycle at Pheobe Putney, said in a press release. "To best serve patients and communities, providers must deliver sustainable revenue. Patient experience and revenue improvement form the one-two punch that won't change anytime soon."

Patients want transparent, navigable experiences from the front desk to collections, and when they get that, they are more likely to recommend the provider to peers, come back for services and pay their bills on time.

To that end, 52% of revenue cycle leaders are looking to enhance scheduling and self-service tools for a more seamless, digital experience. About 41% of respondents are also prioritizing improvements to patient payment processes, including upfront estimates and flexible payment options, such as digital wallets and personalized payment plans.

Over a third of revenue cycle leaders also said AI and automation are top priorities for achieving this goal.

76% of RCM leaders say automation is key 2026 initiative

Over three-quarters of revenue cycle leaders said in the survey that implementing automation solutions is a key initiative over the next 12 months. This is the highest initiative tracked in this year's report, researchers added. AI and automation were also the largest area of investment at 56% of respondents.

Automation and AI are no longer nice-to-have capabilities; they are now core revenue functions, especially as administrative burdens continue to increase. With this technological maturity, researchers expect healthcare organizations to move past isolated pilots to consolidated technology stacks.

Over half of respondents -- 54% -- plan to consolidate their revenue cycle management vendors in the next three years. Relatedly, 71% said they plan to decrease reliance on third-party vendors. These insights align with two key areas of focus for revenue cycle efficiency in 2026: reducing administrative burden and cost-to-collect.

Revenue cycle leaders are seeking more unified revenue cycle management platforms that simplify contracts, mitigate integration issues and strengthen security, researchers stated.

The focus on security is particularly important to revenue cycle leaders, the report indicated. Eighty-five percent of organizations reported changing their strategic investment in revenue cycle management technology in response to recent cybersecurity incidents. Most notably, revenue cycle management experienced extreme disruptions in early 2024 when Change Healthcare experienced a ransomware attack.

Ransomware and other cybersecurity events continue to be a salient issue in healthcare, likely leading revenue cycle leaders to consolidate their platforms to reduce redundancy and support faster recovery in the event of an attack.

Priorities and focus areas within revenue cycle management are shifting as the economic and technological landscapes change. Emerging technologies are prompting leaders to rethink their strategies, while potential disruptions to payer mix may result in an increase in self-pay patients. With a growing emphasis on patient experience and AI capabilities, revenue cycle leaders are preparing to tackle 2026.

Jacqueline LaPointe is a graduate of Brandeis University and King's College London. She has been writing about healthcare finance and revenue cycle management since 2016.

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