Healthcare revenue cycle leaders are rethinking how work gets done.
As organizations face growing reimbursement pressures and administrative demands, leaders are turning to AI, advanced automation, and connected workflows to drive stronger financial performance and accelerate the autonomous revenue cycle.
These themes took center stage at Waystar True North™ 2026, where more than 600 revenue cycle leaders gathered in San Antonio, TX, to explore strategies to accelerate payments, reduce denials, and help teams maximize efficiency through keynotes, client-led discussions, and hands-on workshops.
From improving efficiency and financial performance to exploring the latest AI-powered innovations and learning from peers, here are three key takeaways shaping the future of healthcare RCM.
Watch now: Revenue cycle leaders on shaping the future of healthcare RCM
1. The path to stronger RCM performance starts with embracing change
Healthcare organizations are being asked to do more with less while navigating evolving payer requirements, rising patient expectations, and staffing constraints. Revenue cycle leaders are responding with strategies for improving productivity, strengthening financial performance, and helping teams focus their time on what matters most.
A common thread in the discussions was that achieving meaningful outcomes requires more than adding resources. Instead, organizations are rethinking traditional processes, redesigning workflows, and embracing new technologies to improve efficiency and increase impact.
“The future is bright. It’s now. We’ve never been at a time before where we have so many technological advances,” said Sal Brown, System Vice President of Revenue Cycle at Mount Sinai Health System. “Now is the time to embrace it, to learn about it, and learn how it can make things more efficient within your organization.”
That optimism was also reflected in Waystar Advisory Board discussions, where leaders emphasized the opportunity to use new capabilities to reduce backlogs, accelerate decision-making, and help staff shift from repetitive tasks to more complex, higher-value work.
Healthcare organizations are already seeing the results of these efforts with stronger productivity, more streamlined operations, and greater agility in a shifting RCM landscape.
As the industry continues to evolve, new capabilities in AI and advanced automation are helping organizations optimize financial performance, reduce administrative burden, and build a more autonomous revenue cycle.
See the newest Waystar AltitudeAI™ capabilities driving meaningful results: Discover Waystar’s new agentic solutions transforming AI into action across the revenue cycle.
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2. The shift from reactive to proactive is accelerating reimbursement + reducing complexity
As healthcare organizations look for new ways to accelerate reimbursement, reduce denials, and ease administrative burden, many leaders are seeking more proactive approaches to managing the revenue cycle.
For many organizations, that means moving beyond reactive processes and helping teams identify opportunities sooner, improve visibility into denial trends, and make faster, more informed decisions.
To address these priorities, Waystar introduced new AI-powered capabilities designed to help:
- Continuously monitor Medicaid eligibility and identify coverage opportunities with proactive insights
- Improve patient payment engagement through richer, more interactive communication experiences
- Equip CDI teams with AI-powered support that surfaces clinical insights and streamlines case reviews
- Reduce administrative effort and streamline claim resubmissions with automated claim resubmission workflows
- Accelerate denial recovery through electronic appeal submission
- Surface answers faster through conversational analytics with access to claims, remits, and denials data
Powered by Waystar’s network of more than 7.5 billion annual healthcare payment transactions spanning approximately 60% of U.S. patients*, these innovations are turning intelligence into action.
These capabilities premiered during the Waystar Innovation Showcase and are available to explore in the Waystar Innovation Lab™, where you can see firsthand how AI-powered capabilities can help accelerate payments, reduce denials, and improve operational efficiency.
Preliminary results underscore the impact. Early adopter clients of conversational analytics have reported up to a 75% reduction in time spent on data analysis. Additionally, Waystar’s agentic CDI capabilities can analyze approximately 30,000 data points in seconds and are expected to reduce review time by approximately 25%*.
Together, these capabilities illustrate how healthcare organizations are using AI to move from reactive processes to more proactive, connected operations that support stronger financial performance.
Discover new RCM innovations: Dive into the latest AI and advanced automation capabilities in the Waystar Innovation Lab™ or watch the Waystar Innovation Showcase on demand.
Explore Waystar’s new innovations
*Waystar data
3. Collaboration is essential to shape the next generation of RCM innovation
Across the Waystar community, revenue cycle leaders are sharing strategies for navigating today’s revenue cycle challenges and preparing for what’s next through client-led sessions, roundtables, and peer networking.
Those conversations went beyond sharing best practices, highlighting the important role healthcare organizations play in shaping the future of the healthcare revenue cycle.
Innovation does not happen in isolation. The strongest advancements are driven by the people closest to the work: revenue cycle leaders and teams who understand where complexity creates friction and where smarter, more connected workflows can create value.
Programs like Waystar’s Early Adopter Program give healthcare organizations the opportunity to provide real-world feedback on emerging capabilities while gaining early access to new innovations.
For many participants, the program’s greatest value is knowing their feedback drives meaningful change.
“What keeps the team engaged is knowing Waystar is actually listening,” said Amanda Lowry, Senior Vice President of Revenue Cycle at OSF HealthCare.
Organizations like OSF Healthcare have seen a powerful impact from taking part in the program and harnessing Waystar’s AI-powered platform. 
Gain exclusive access to innovation: Nearly 60 organizations are currently participating in Waystar’s Early Adopter Program, helping shape capabilities that move the autonomous revenue cycle from vision to reality.
Lead the way forward
Healthcare leaders are proving that AI-powered innovation, smarter workflows, and collaboration can improve performance today while advancing toward a more autonomous revenue cycle tomorrow.
“We believe Waystar True North™ is the largest gathering of revenue cycle leaders in the Waystar community, coming together to focus on transforming the healthcare revenue cycle at arguably the most important time in our history,” Waystar CEO Matt Hawkins said. “Together, we’re solving some of the hardest challenges in healthcare.”
Don’t miss your opportunity to help define the future of healthcare payments. Register for our next Waystar True North™ Client Conference at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort in Orlando, FL, from October 11 through 13, 2027.
