OREANDA-NEWS. November 19, 2014. For the second consecutive year, providers named RelayHealth Financial number one in Customer Satisfaction, besting 104 other vendors in the industry’s largest annual study on revenue cycle management (RCM) software. Providers also placed RelayHealth Financial in the number one spot for revenue cycle solution overall for small/rural and community hospitals under 250 beds.

Black Book™ analysts assessed revenue cycle outcomes across 18 factors by surveying more than 2,300 healthcare financial executives, administrators, and managers at 590 hospital and inpatient facilities; and business managers of 1,600 physician practices affiliated or owned by hospital systems. Overall, RelayHealth Financial outscored all revenue cycle management software competitors in 13 of Black Book’s 18 client experience-based key performance indicators.

In Black Book’s ranking of RCM Satisfaction by Hospital Size, RelayHealth Financial achieved “A” ratings (representing greater than 90 percent satisfaction with a vendor’s revenue cycle management solution) in four out of four categories: Small & Rural Hospitals (100 beds or less); Community Hospitals (101-250 beds); Large Hospitals & Academic Medical Centers (251+ beds); and Hospital Systems & Proprietary Chains, IDNs & ACOs.

“Revenue cycle management is the life blood of any hospital,” says Doug Brown, partner at Black Book, in Clearwater, Fla. “Effective patient registration, insurance and benefit verification, charge capture, and claims processing are essential to maintaining viability. Given the volatile healthcare landscape, it’s crucial that hospitals align with top-rated vendors that can provide the best-of-class software, support, and service levels they need to remain profitable and agile today.”

Providers use Black Book’s reports to identify the top solution vendors in a technology category, and develop a short-list for their RFPs or to send solicitations through purchasing. The eight research reports comprising Black Book’s 2014 State of the Revenue Cycle Management Industry can be found on the Black Book website.

“Customer satisfaction and retention are the ultimate indicators of whether your revenue cycle management solution is succeeding for hospitals,” says Kevin Carroll, vice president of Operations at RelayHealth Financial. “The results of this Black Book research validate our team’s unwavering commitment to our customers, their organizations, and their patients—because these results are based solely on feedback from users and buyers. It’s truly the unbiased voice of the customer.”