Revenue & Operational Impact
The operational cost is severe: missed contract clauses trigger unexpected claim denials (currently running 8-15% across most health systems), prior authorization bottlenecks delay patient care initiation by 3-5 days, and revenue cycle teams spend 60% of their time on contract interpretation rather than denial management. Days in A/R stretch beyond 45 days because payment terms buried in 50-page documents go unnoticed until claims reject. Finance leaders report that contract risk extraction consumes more labor than actual contract negotiation.