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Four health systems deploy AI to control spend

New AI system validates service invoices before payment, giving health systems control over a $323 billion spend category.
By Susan Morse , Executive Editor
Staffer on computer

Photo: Issarawat Tattong/Getty Images

OSF HealthCare, Kettering Health, MemorialCare and MUSC Health are among the health systems that have deployed AI to control spending.

SpendRule's contract intelligence platform helps health systems prevent overpayments on purchased services by validating invoices against contract terms. SpendRule estimates this is over a $323 billion spend category.

Purchased services represent nearly half of non-labor spend for health systems. Unmanaged spending results in more than $32 billion in preventable overpayments annually, the company estimates. 

The majority of invoices are approved without validation. The result is widespread overpayments, SpendRule said.

"Most purchased services contracts sit in a filing cabinet – literal or digital – disconnected from the payments they're supposed to govern," said Joseph Akintolayo, CTO and cofounder of SpendRule. "We change that by turning those agreements into code – encoding the actual terms, conditions and obligations into real-time payment controls. This enables true four-way matching – purchase order, receipt, invoice and contract terms – automatically validating invoices against their contract before payment. Discrepancies are flagged with evidence and resolved upstream, without disrupting existing ERP or AP systems."

"We manage thousands of purchased services contracts, many of them hundreds of pages long," said Dave Fergus, chief supply chain officer, OSF HealthCare. "Before SpendRule, there was no realistic way to ensure every invoice line matched the contract before payment. Now, that validation happens automatically, giving us confidence in invoice accuracy, stopping the leakage, and freeing our teams from thousands of hours of manual approvals each year."

SpendRule is backed by investors including Abundant Venture Partners, MemorialCare Innovation Fund and Zeal Capital Partners.

 

 

Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org