Revenue cycle leaders are no longer asking whether AI belongs in their operations, they’re focused on deploying it with intention, building the governance to sustain it and redesigning their workforces around it.
During a recent webinar hosted by Becker’s Healthcare and CorroHealth, leaders from Beth Israel Lahey Health, Advocate Health and RWJBarnabas Health examined where AI is generating measurable return across the revenue cycle — and what separates high-performing organizations from the rest.
Here are four key takeaways from the conversation:
1. AI’s impact is measurable
Panelists agreed that AI has moved well beyond buzzword status and is delivering real, quantifiable results. Keisha Downes, vice president of mid-revenue cycle at Beth Israel Lahey Health, described how a pre-bill AI tool has changed the way her team approaches high volumes of discharges.
“There’s no way that we can review every single one with the level of specificity that we would want to,” Ms. Downes said, noting that the tool now scrubs encounters before claims go out surfacing issues at a scale her team couldn’t achieve manually.
Lissa Mann, vice president of revenue cycle applications at Advocate Health, saw similar results in her coding and denials workflows. Her team’s feedback captured the shift plainly: the experience was “like having a second set of eyes.” For Ms. Mann, that validation confirmed the organization was on the right track and doing it at scale.
2. What’s different now
While automation has existed in revenue cycle for years, panelists emphasized that today’s AI represents a fundamental shift in kind, not just degree. Legacy systems operated on rigid if-then logic. Today’s tools incorporate machine learning, predictive analytics and early agentic capabilities that allow them to function as genuine thought partners.
“We are not going one, two, three, four anymore. We can envision what that end result is and use AI to get to that end result faster and in a different way,” Ms. Mann said.
Ms. Downes added that AI is now providing clinical background, payer trend data and predictive insight alongside each case, enabling proactive decision-making that rules-based workflows simply couldn’t support.
3. The human element
A consistent theme across the conversation was that AI’s greatest value lies in complementing — not replacing — the human workforce. CorroHealth President Patrick DeAngelo cautioned against viewing AI purely through a cost-reduction lens, arguing that the strongest organizations are framing it as an investment in quality and patient experience.
Complex patient financial conversations, particularly in sensitive care settings like children’s hospitals, still require a distinctly human touch. “If it’s talking about a medical claim that impacts a loved one, that’s a whole different conversation,” Mr. DeAngelo said.
Ms. Downes described a spectrum model: high-volume, low-risk work moves toward automation, while high-risk, nuanced encounters stay human-forward. Panelists agreed that the goal is ensuring staff can work at the top of their license, without having to worry about repetitive tasks and focused on work that demands human judgment.
4. Keys to success
Looking ahead, panelists pointed to organizational discipline as the true differentiator.
Ms. Downes stressed starting with the problem, not the solution, and called for stronger governance structures with multidisciplinary committees spanning IT, clinical and revenue cycle teams. Ms. Mann added that adaptability matters as much as ambition. Organizations that have “failed fast and found those ways to pivot quickly” are the ones positioned to lead.
Across every topic, the panel agreed that the future of the revenue cycle belongs to organizations that treat AI as a complement to human expertise, invest in governance and change management, and remain willing to reimagine their workflows from the ground up.
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
