In its agenda book and schedule of events for the University of Texas board of regents’ meeting held Wednesday and Thursday, the health system reported a $405 million decrease in adjusted income as compared to the same time period the previous year.
“The $405.0 million (76.9 percent) decrease in adjusted income…was primarily attributable to an increase in expenses combined with a decrease in patient revenues as a result of the implementation of the new Epic Electronic Health Record system,” according to the agenda book.
The finance committee indicated expenses had increased due to a higher number of full-time employees, which required increased salaries, wages and payroll-related costs; salary increases and increased premium sharing rates; depreciation and amortization expenses related to the completion of several large projects; and other facility management and software projects.
Additionally, the agenda mentions an increase in consulting expenses “primarily related” to its Epic go-live, such as professional fees and services.
This isn’t the first time MD Anderson has pointed to its Epic implementation project as a significant element of downward finances. In a May board of regents’ meeting, the health system said costs related to the Epic implementation led to a 56.6 percent drop in adjusted income in the seven-month period that ended March 31.
In both instances, the health system said it anticipated a “material impact to revenues and expenses” due to the implementation.
“The post implementation strategy will focus on clinical productivity and operational efficiencies to return to normalized operations by year-end,” according to the report.
MD Anderson went live on its Epic EHR in March.
More articles on finance:
5 most-read finance stories: Week of Aug. 22-26
Reducing low-cost health services could increase cost savings: 6 things to know
Oregon’s healthcare price transparency grade improves after website creation
