Revenue cycle management staffing shortages aren't temporary, and they are costing your organization money every single day.

When skilled coders, billers, or collectors are missing, claims sit unworked, denial rates climb, and reimbursement timelines stretch. Even a small increase in denials or days in A/R can translate into millions in delayed or lost revenue annually for mid-to-large healthcare organizations.

To stop this revenue erosion, healthcare organizations have three strategic paths. You can build internal capacity by hiring and training more staff. You can buy technology to automate and accelerate RCM processes. Or you can partner with specialists who bring both experienced talent and proven systems. 

Each approach offers clear benefits but also comes with trade-offs.

Understanding these options and where they fit into your long-term strategy helps you choose the most effective path to stabilize your revenue cycle.

The Current RCM Staffing Crisis

Healthcare staffing shortages have reached a critical point, and you’re feeling it most in your RCM teams. Recent surveys highlight that around 63% of healthcare providers report RCM staffing shortages. 

Nearly 60% of hospitals and health systems report 100+ open roles across clinical and administrative functions - a direct driver of backlogs in billing and claims follow-up.

The WHO projects an 11 million global health-worker shortfall by 2030, meaning the competition for skilled RCM talent will only intensify.

This is happening because chronic burnout is driving a steady outflow of experienced RCM personnel. With 73% of healthcare professionals reporting burnout, you’re losing productivity at a scale that costs the industry $4.6 billion every year.

Rising labor costs add even more pressure. Salaries continue to climb faster than inflation, yet retaining skilled RCM staff is still difficult. Many experienced coders and billers move to better-paying or lower-stress roles, creating ongoing turnover and long-term instability in your revenue cycle.

The True Cost of RCM Staffing Gaps

When your RCM teams are understaffed, the effects surface quickly across your entire revenue cycle. Overworked or temporary staff make more mistakes, leading to higher denial rates. Nearly 12% of initial claims get rejected when teams are stretched.

The largest impact appears in working capital. Staffing shortages extend days in A/R, increase aged receivables, and reduce cash-flow predictability. As balances move past 90 and 120 days, recovery rates fall, and write-offs rise, directly pressuring margins.

There are also higher operating costs. Rework and appeals increase cost per claim, while inconsistent patient communication reduces self-pay collections and raises bad debt. Compliance risk grows as teams struggle to keep pace with coding updates and payer rules, increasing exposure to audits and penalties.

At this point, RCM staffing becomes a capital allocation decision. Leaders must choose whether to build internal capacity, invest in automation, or partner with RCM specialists—each with distinct implications for cost, risk, and cash-flow stability.

Build an In-House RCM Team

Building your own RCM team gives you full control, but it requires time, money, and long-term commitment.

What to Consider When Building an In-House RCM Team

You control every process and quality standard. Your team works only for you, aligns with your culture, and builds deep knowledge of your systems, payers, and patient population. Over time, this creates strong institutional expertise. You can also tailor workflows to your exact needs without relying on external partners.

However, hiring is slow and difficult. Qualified coders, billers, and collectors with credentials such as AAPC’s CPC or AHIMA’s CCA/CCS are hard to find, and open roles can stall your revenue cycle for months. Training takes even longer. Most new hires need 6–12 months to reach full productivity. 

Even then, retention is a challenge, and losing trained staff forces you to restart the cycle. Remote and contract RCM roles are widely available today, making it easier for staff to leave for more flexible work. Also, specialty practices and outsourcing firms often offer higher pay, increasing wage competition.

You also carry the full cost of technology. Billing platforms, coding tools, compliance software, and IT maintenance add significant ongoing expenses.

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Buy Revenue Cycle Management Technology

Buying RCM technology means investing in tools that essentially streamline billing, coding, and collections. You subscribe to the platform, and your staff uses it to work faster and more accurately.

Key Considerations Before Buying RCM Software

Automation reduces manual work, improves coding accuracy, and speeds up claims. Dashboards give you real-time visibility into bottlenecks. Over time, software becomes cheaper than adding new staff because it scales without increasing payroll.

Upfront costs are high, and it can take several months before any financial impact is realized. Integrations with core systems such as EHRs, practice management platforms, and payer portals are often complex, requiring significant IT involvement, custom configuration, and ongoing testing.

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The Technology ParadoxModern RCM technology does more than just automate. It speeds up processes through digitization and provides intelligence through AI and analytics. These tools accelerate workflows, identify patterns, flag exceptions, and deliver actionable insights.

But technology doesn't eliminate the need for skilled RCM staff. Trained professionals are still required to configure rules, interpret analytical outputs, manage exceptions, and ensure compliance. Without human expertise, even the most advanced tools underperform. 

Partnering With Specialized RCM Providers

Partnering with RCM specialists means outsourcing key revenue cycle functions to an expert team so you can focus on patient care. This model gives you both skilled staff and optimized technology without the burden of managing either internally.

When RCM Partnerships Create the Most Value

You gain immediate access to certified coders and billers who improve accuracy and collections from day one. A market analysis found that 78% of healthcare providers who outsourced RCM had 15-20% lower administrative costs on average. Technology, updates, integrations, and support are included. Partners stay current with regulations, making compliance easier. 

Many organizations choose a hybrid RCM model, keeping some work in-house while outsourcing areas like billing or claims processing. This lets you maintain control of critical functions while gaining outside expertise.

Partnering with HOM

HOM combines close to 8 years of RCM experience with certified specialists, purpose-built workflows, and turnkey integrations to close staffing and revenue gaps quickly. With 99% accuracy standards, our teams and automation deliver fast, error-free processing. As a result, healthcare organizations reduce costs by 30% or more while improving collections and compliance.

The RCM staffing crisis isn’t going away, but it can be managed with the right approach. Organizations that are stabilizing cash flow are reassessing how they combine internal teams, technology, and external expertise.

Request a free audit of your RCM processes, or simply write to us at partnerships@homrcm.com to identify where staffing, automation, or partnership can reduce risk and improve financial performance—before gaps turn into sustained revenue loss. 

FAQs:

1. Why are RCM staffing shortages getting worse?

Burnout, rising wages, and strict certification requirements are shrinking the available talent pool. At the same time, experienced coders and billers are leaving for remote, contract, or lower-stress roles, making it harder for organizations to hire and retain skilled RCM staff fast enough.

2. Is buying RCM technology enough to solve staffing gaps?

No. Technology improves speed and accuracy, but it still relies on trained professionals to configure rules, manage exceptions, handle denials, and ensure compliance. Without skilled users, technology underperforms and staffing gaps remain.

3. How does outsourcing RCM improve revenue performance?

RCM partners provide immediate access to certified talent, standardized workflows, and payer-ready processes. This reduces errors, shortens claim cycles, lowers denial rates, and improves cash flow without increasing internal headcount.

4. What makes a hybrid RCM model effective?

A hybrid model balances control and scalability. It allows organizations to retain oversight of critical functions while offloading high-volume or specialized work, improving efficiency and financial stability without overburdening internal teams.
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Key Takeaways:

• RCM staffing shortages are now a structural issue, with 63% of providers understaffed—driving delays in claims, higher denial rates, unstable cash flow, and growing compliance risk.
• Build if you require full control and can absorb long hiring timelines, rising labor costs, training overhead, and ongoing turnover risk.
• Buy if automation can improve efficiency, but you recognize that technology alone still depends on scarce, skilled RCM staff to perform effectively.
• Partner if you need immediate access to certified talent, proven workflows, and embedded technology without increasing internal headcount.
• For most providers, the strongest option is not choosing one path—but combining them, balancing control with scalability and expertise.

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