SAP Unveils Two New Patient Management Solutions for Healthcare

The SAP S/4HANA Cloud for patient accounting and SAP Patient Administration solutions address the needs of healthcare providers for flexible and extensible cloud services supported by intelligent technologies that will help break down legacy structural and technological barriers in healthcare.

As healthcare providers transition to value-based care models, SAP S/4HANA Cloud for patient accounting and SAP Patient Administration help set the foundation for optimizing business operations while improving the patient experience.

“The ever-increasing costs and the growing demand for health services are leading to an urgent need for better strategies to optimize patient care and improve prevention and operational efficiency,” said Barbara Schmücking from the German SAP User Group (DSAG). “The sector needs solutions to transform the networked processes of healthcare providers, to improve the collaboration of all those involved in the treatment process, and to enable smart medicine and personalized patient care at all levels.”

SAP S/4HANA Cloud for patient accounting uses artificial intelligence technology to automate patient billing, payment handling and case-cost analytics. It enables billing teams to create more accurate invoices using rule checks, sort billing cases by business relevance and analyze revenue cycle efficiencies. As a result, healthcare providers can reduce administration tasks and accelerate reimbursements while reducing overall costs.

SAP Patient Administration helps to improve the patient experience by improving the patient scheduling and registration process. It enables online preregistration and patient self-check-in that will reduce patient waiting times and cut administrative burden through digital health information capture. Accurate, up-to-date information from patients will expedite claims processing, adjudication and reimbursement.

Both solutions have been co-innovated with leading healthcare providers, leading into a first release of SAP S/4HANA Cloud for patient accounting designed to streamline outpatient surgery billing in Germany. Future releases plan to include additional German billing types, and versions designed to handle mandated regulations in other regions and countries.

SAP believes in the innovation power of open ecosystems and industry standards and has a long-standing partnership with Cerner, a U.S.-based healthcare software provider whose i.s.h.med solution is celebrating its 25-year anniversary this year. It is the only hospital information system fully integrated with SAP’s healthcare solutions. To support the new wave of next-generation healthcare solutions, Cerner and SAP are reinventing i.s.h.med and patient administration on SAP Cloud Platform. The move reflects the two companies’ joint vision of applying innovative technology to assist professionals providing first-class medicine and care.

The seamless sharing of health information is critical to realizing this vision. Both Cerner and SAP are committed to accelerating healthcare interoperability by promoting and contributing to healthcare industry standards including the HL7 FHIR standard.

“Combining our two companies’ strengths allows us to help healthcare providers address their challenges using innovative solutions,” said Pascal Gilbert-Jeantet, vice president, business development, Strategic Global Alliances at Cerner. “Together we are creating a future where the healthcare system works to improve the well-being of individuals and communities.”