Originally published in Healthcare Management magazine
Rising demand and structural pressures in the NHS drove UK spending on private medical insurance to £9.5bn in 2025, a 50% increase since the pandemic. That sustained growth in private provider activity has brought increased billing complexity, contractual variety and administrative workload. In this environment, understanding how order-to-cash process automation applies to healthcare revenue cycles is increasingly important for finance directors and operations leaders.
Understanding the financial impact of revenue delays in healthcare
Best practices target days sales outstanding (DSO) below 45 days, yet many providers consistently operate at 50 days or above. Delayed invoicing is a top culprit. Across a high-volume provider, the DSO gap represents a material working capital deficit. Closing it increasingly depends on automating the order-to-cash cycle so that billed activity converts to cash without manual handoffs at every stage.
For providers operating under NHS standard contract arrangements, the NHS Payment Scheme guidance for 2025/26 makes clear that billing accuracy and timeliness remain central to commissioner payment obligations. Errors in activity reporting or coding delays have direct consequences for cash received against contracted activity.
Common causes of slow payments and revenue delays
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