The Link between Eliminating Waste and Auditing Your Expenses

Why conduct a telecom expense audit?

In today’s healthcare environment, now more than ever, every dollar spent or saved counts. Our clients tell us that not only are they looking at ways to increase revenue but at reducing expenses as well.

You audit revenue, but do you audit expenses?

Most hospitals regularly conduct revenue cycle audits to make sure they’re getting accurately reimbursed for their services. Even though this process takes a lot of time and effort, most organizations recognize this is an essential part of making sure they hit their profit targets.

Healthcare organizations hire revenue cycle auditors to detect revenue leakage, but expense audits can be just as important. Expenses leak too.

Telecom (cellular, internet, landlines and data network services) is typically one of your top 3 expenses. Many organizations are paying more than necessary, but don’t know it.

Without an independent auditor who is an expert in telecom billing, it is difficult to detect expense leakage. You don’t know what you don’t know.

Telecom expense audits can result in huge savings

Many organizations do not have a clear picture of the amount that can be saved on telecom expenses. Here are just one example.

• During one audit, we saved one hospital two-thirds of their telecom bill by discovering that all their contracts had expired without their knowledge. This hospital paid rack rate for a year, spending around $22,000 per month more than necessary. Our client knew updated contracts would have given them better rates, but they were too busy with other mission-critical projects to act.

With resources stretched paper-thin, it is not uncommon for expenses to be unmanaged and have that fact go undetected. Just as you tighten up your revenue stream with an audit, you should eliminate waste with an expense audit – especially in your top expenses.