The Theme Across HFMA 2026 Sessions: Connected Data for Better Revenue Integrity

Across this year’s HFMA Annual Conference agenda, one theme keeps surfacing: healthcare finance teams need better, more connected data to improve revenue integrity.

This post highlights six sessions that stand out most for leaders focused on revenue integrity, AI, and financial sustainability.

Also, read below for billing accuracy based on validated trauma registry data.

Below are 5 sessions we’re looking forward to, plus 1 bonus pick worth checking out.

Key Revenue Integrity Sessions at HFMA 2026

1. From Reactive to Proactive - Using Data and AI for Denial Prevention

📅 June 8, 2026 | 9:10 AM – 10:00 AM

From their agenda:

Healthcare claim denials are at an all-time high, creating significant financial strain for health systems. On average, 15% of initial claims are denied, and while 54% are overturned on appeal, the rework costs billions annually. As payors deploy increasingly sophisticated claim scrubbers, health systems must adopt proactive strategies to prevent denials before they occur. This work highlights our health system’s approach to leveraging data and AI to preempt denials, reduce rework, and protect revenue. We will outline three key tactics that have delivered tens of millions of dollars in savings.

In December 2023, we analyzed all write-offs using raw 835 and 837 data, identifying recurring denial patterns. Based on these insights, we implemented three major initiatives:

Coding Accuracy: We discovered claims leaving with undefined DRGs or unspecified principal diagnoses. A concurrent coding process was established to ensure all claims are complete before submission.

Recurring Account Gaps: High denial rates for IVIG and imaging accounts prompted workflow changes, including EMR smart forms to meet LCD/NCD criteria and close documentation gaps. Predictive Modeling: Using historical denial data, we built AI models to flag high-risk cases in real time. Concurrent CDI and coding teams now address these cases while patients are still in-house, preventing downstream denials.

In just 18 months, these initiatives have safeguarded tens of millions in revenue. Predictive modeling, launched three months ago, is already showing promising results, with further analysis underway to measure impact on billing and appeals resources.

Why it matters:

Denial prevention is moving from reactive cleanup to proactive visibility.

That same shift matters for trauma revenue integrity. When teams can review trauma-related claims alongside validated registry data, they can better identify potential missed charges, documentation gaps, and case-level evidence before issues become harder to resolve.

2. Beyond the Numbers: Making Sense of Price Transparency Data in a Negotiation-Driven World

📅 June 8, 2026 | 3:00 PM – 3:50 PM

From their agenda:

Across all care settings, from ambulatory clinics to complex inpatient environments, finance and compliance leaders face rising pressure to protect revenue integrity amid increasing denials, payer scrutiny, and workforce shortages. Days in A/R are up 20%, denial rates now exceed 12%, and CMS audits all Medicare Advantage contracts annually. Traditional manual reviews can no longer keep pace.

This session brings together Ardent Health and Memorial Hermann Health System for a forward-looking discussion on how AI, automation, and workflow redesign are transforming compliance, CDI, and documentation performance across the continuum of care. Moderated by Ambience Healthcare, the panel will share concrete examples of how technology is reducing denials, improving documentation accuracy, and strengthening defensibility while restoring clinician time and financial predictability.

Attendees will also learn how these organizations are preparing for the next wave of transformation, integrating generative AI, ambient documentation, and predictive analytics to redefine the future of healthcare finance.

Why it matters:

Revenue integrity depends on understanding the details behind the numbers.

For hospitals, data can be technically available but still difficult to interpret without the right context. That same idea applies to trauma revenue integrity. Teams need more than data access; they need clear, trusted evidence that helps them understand what happened, what was billed, and where there may be gaps.

3. The Rising Complexity Threat No Revenue Cycle Leader Can Ignore

📅 June 8, 2026 | 8:00 AM – 8:50 AM

From their agenda:

Documentation and coding teams operate in an environment where clinical complexity, documentation volume, and reviewer workload continue to increase. Patient cases are more intricate, records are longer, and capturing the full set of clinical indicators needed for accurate coding and quality reporting is becoming increasingly challenging. In this panel discussion, leaders from Cleveland Clinic, Duke University Health System, and Catholic Health will share their experiences navigating these challenges and building more reliable mid-cycle operations.

The conversation will explore common drivers of quality variation, including inconsistent documentation completeness, variation in clinical indicator capture, and increasing reviewer burden. Panelists will discuss how their organizations are enhancing documentation clarity, strengthening collaboration among CDI, coding, and clinical teams, and achieving greater predictability in mid-cycle workflows.

Why it matters:

Accurate reimbursement depends on clear, complete, and reliable clinical evidence.

For hospitals with trauma programs, that evidence can often be supported by validated trauma registry data. When clinical, documentation, coding, and finance teams can work from trusted case-level information, they are better positioned to support more accurate billing and stronger revenue integrity.

4. Enforcement Case Studies in Coding and Compliance--What Not to Do

📅 June 9, 2026 | 9:40 AM – 10:30 AM

From their agenda:

Diving deep into coding and compliance case studies can inform organizations about what revenue cycle areas enforcement entities are currently targeting. This session will use real enforcement cases to teach attendees how to avoid the coding and compliance missteps that lead to large dollar amount settlements for other organizations. The presenter, an MD and certified coder and compliance officer, combines clinical perspectives with revenue cycle perspectives. Examples of areas review include wound care and skin substitutes, upcoding, and failing to meet medical necessity requirements.

Why it matters:

More accurate billing is not just about finding missed revenue. It is also about making sure billing decisions are supported by appropriate clinical documentation and operational processes.

For trauma programs, validated registry data can help teams review trauma-related billing with more complete clinical context and better support defensible revenue integrity workflows.

5. From Complexity to Clarity: Redesigning the Revenue Integrity Operating Model

📅 June 9, 2026 | 1:30 PM – 1:55 PM

From their agenda:

As revenue integrity becomes increasingly central to financial stability, leading health systems are rethinking how technology, analytics, and partnerships come together to support a more agile, accountable, and insight-driven operating model. BJC HealthCare is one of those leaders.

In this session, Harold Mueller, Chief Revenue Officer of BJC HealthCare, shares how it undertook a systemwide initiative to transition its revenue integrity operations to a new model by aligning teams, workflows, and performance metrics across 14 hospitals. Instead of navigating denials, underpayments, and complex claims as separate challenges, BJC created a Revenue Integrity Operating Model that strengthens visibility, accelerates cash flow, and unifies clinical, financial, and operational teams around shared goals.

By redesigning governance, implementing business analytics, and leveraging strategic external partnerships, BJC also established a Revenue Integrity Framework that drives clarity, consistency, and accountability at scale. Attendees will learn how this integrated framework helped reduce friction across their RCM ecosystem, shorten AR cycles, minimize preventable denials, and elevate systemwide performance reporting.

This session offers a replicable blueprint for large systems seeking to turn operational complexity into strategic clarity by transforming revenue integrity from a reactive function into a proactive financial engine.

Why it stands out:

Revenue integrity can become complex quickly, especially when teams are working across different systems, workflows, and departments.

For trauma billing, that complexity can involve trauma program leaders, registrars, finance, revenue cycle, coding, and compliance teams. A clearer operating model requires trusted case-level evidence that helps everyone work from the same information.

Bonus session worth checking out

⭐ The Conversation We’re Not Supposed to Have: Payers and Providers, Unfiltered

📅 June 9, 2026 | 8:30 AM – 9:20 AM

From their agenda:

The friction between payers and providers is at a breaking point.  It’s a system where both sides have learned, often unintentionally, how to fight each other at scale.

Denials are up. Appeals are up. Administrative costs are exploding.  And yet, most conversations about “collaboration” sound exactly the same as they did five years ago.

So here’s a different approach: Instead of pretending this is a communication problem, we’re going to talk about what’s actually driving the behavior.

In this session, a payer leader and a provider revenue cycle executive sit down for a candid, unscripted conversation about the real dynamics underneath the payer–provider divide:

• The incentives that reward friction, even when no one wants it
• The assumptions each side makes and why many of them are wrong
• The uncomfortable reality that both sides are, at times, contributing to the problem
• And the reason most “solutions” never make it past a conference stage
• You’ll hear real examples. You’ll hear disagreement. And you’ll hear both sides wrestle, live, with where change is actually possible.

We’re going to unpack the rework, the delays, the administrative drag, where billions of dollars (and countless hours) are currently being burned.

Why it matters:

Denials and payer-provider friction are not just administrative problems. They affect revenue, staff workload, and the ability to resolve billing issues efficiently.

For hospitals with trauma programs, better evidence can help make those conversations clearer. When teams can connect trauma-related claims to validated registry data and documented clinical evidence, they have a stronger foundation for reviewing billing decisions and identifying where issues may be occurring.

Revenue integrity is becoming more connected

Across these sessions, a few themes stand out:

• Documentation quality has a direct impact on financial performance
• Revenue cycle teams need better clinical and operational visibility
• Denial prevention is moving further upstream
• Compliance depends on clear, defensible documentation
• Financial data needs context to be useful
• Revenue integrity depends on stronger cross-functional alignment

For hospitals with trauma programs, this creates an important opportunity.

The trauma registry is not just a reporting tool. It can also be a valuable source of validated clinical evidence that supports revenue integrity review.

When finance and revenue cycle teams can connect trauma-related claims to registry-backed case details, they can better understand whether charges align with the documented care delivered.

That is the idea behind More Accurate Billing Based on Validated Registry Data.

Visit NQS at Kiosk #1 in the Innovation Playground to see billing based on validated registry data

📅 June 7–9 at HFMA Annual Conference 2026

NQS will be at Kiosk #1 in the Innovation Playground during HFMA Annual Conference 2026, showcasing Activate360™.

Stop by to meet the team, see Activate360™ in action, and learn more about Activate360™. Validated trauma registry data can support more accurate trauma billing and clearer revenue integrity workflows.

At the kiosk, attendees can explore how Activate360™ helps hospitals:

• Connect trauma registry data with revenue integrity workflows
• Review trauma-related claims alongside documented clinical evidence
• Identify potential missed trauma charges
• Support stronger financial integrity for trauma services
• See how registry-backed evidence can support more accurate trauma billing

Not attending? You can still connect

If you’re not attending HFMA Annual Conference 2026, you can still learn more about Activate360™ or schedule a demo with NQS.

During the demo, the NQS team can walk through how Activate360™ helps hospitals connect validated trauma registry data with revenue integrity workflows, review trauma-related claims, and identify potential missed charge opportunities.

See you at HFMA Annual Conference 2026

Events like HFMA Annual Conference highlight how healthcare finance continues to evolve.

Revenue integrity, documentation quality, denial prevention, compliance, financial visibility, and operational performance are becoming more connected than ever.

For hospitals with trauma programs, one practical opportunity is clear:

Bring validated trauma registry data into the revenue integrity conversation.

If you’re attending HFMA Annual Conference 2026, we hope to see you there.