Only 8.0% of independent practices get real-time denial notifications, according to Veradigm's 2026 survey of 360 practice leaders. Another 41.0% learn that a claim was denied one to two weeks after the payer made the decision.
The delay matters because staff cannot fix a denial they have not seen. Experian Health's 2025 survey found that 41.0% of providers see denials on more than 10.0% of claims.
How long does a practice wait to learn a claim was denied?
Veradigm surveyed 360 leaders of independent ambulatory practices in March 2026. Of those, 210 were physicians and clinical leaders and 150 were practice managers and administrators. Medical Economics reported the results on May 6, 2026.
The timing numbers are short. Of the 360 leaders, 41.0% said they learn about denied claims one to two weeks later, and 8.0% said they receive real-time denial notifications. Only 24.0% reported high or complete visibility into where the practice loses revenue. Another 29.0% reported limited or no visibility.
Accounts receivable visibility looks similar. Veradigm found that 68.0% of leaders have only moderate or limited real-time visibility into A/R.
A one to two week lag has a direct cost. Staff cannot start rework on a claim they have not seen, and each day of lag adds to days in A/R. Payers also set filing and appeal windows, so a claim that waits 14 days has used part of its window before anyone looks at it.
How often do claims get denied?
Experian Health's 2025 State of Claims survey of 250 finance, billing and claims professionals ran in June and July 2025. It found that 41.0% of providers say more than 10.0% of their claims are denied. The same question gave 30.0% in 2022 and 38.0% in 2024.
Experian also reported that 54.0% of providers say claim errors are increasing, and 68.0% say submitting a clean claim is harder than a year earlier. Another 43.0% said their organizations are understaffed in key operational areas.
Veradigm's respondents agree on direction. In its 2026 survey, 48.0% of the 360 leaders reported rising denial volumes. Another 54.0% reported more financial pressure over the past 12 months, and the share rose to 82.0% among practices with 40 or more clinicians.
Staffing adds to the load. In the Veradigm survey, 44.0% of leaders named billing staff as hard to recruit or keep. Physicians ranked first at 48.0%, and clinical support staff came in at 42.0%.
What causes denials?
Veradigm asked its 360 leaders to name the drivers of denials in their practice. Respondents could pick more than one.
| Denial driver | Share of 360 practice leaders naming it |
|---|---|
| Eligibility or coverage issues | 39.0% |
| Coding errors | 38.0% |
| Missing or incomplete claim information | 34.0% |
| Prior authorization issues | 34.0% |
| Payer policy changes | 34.0% |
| Documentation gaps | 33.0% |
Source: Veradigm 2026 State of Independent Practice survey, March 2026, n=360, as reported by Medical Economics on May 6, 2026.
Experian's list from its 250 respondents has a similar order. Missing or inaccurate data led at 50.0%, followed by prior authorization problems at 35.0% and incomplete or wrong patient registration at 32.0%. In the same survey, 26.0% of respondents said at least one in ten denials traces back to intake errors.
Inovalon's report points the same way. Physicians Practice covered it on August 18, 2026, and it draws on more than 400 revenue cycle leaders. Of those respondents, 42.0% worked in ambulatory physician practices, 25.0% in skilled nursing facilities, 16.0% in hospitals and health systems, and 14.0% in home health and hospice. Inovalon found that 78.0% traced their denials to at least one front-end workflow.
Which front-end workflows do leaders flag?
In the Inovalon survey, 72.0% of the 400-plus leaders called denials a significant challenge. Another 73.0% picked more than one workflow as a contributor, so most denials have several causes.
Three related problems stood out. Patient payment collection drew 71.0%, unknown or incomplete patient benefits drew 59.0%, and prior authorization issues drew 56.0%.
These steps all happen before the claim goes out. Eligibility checks, benefit verification and authorization tracking sit at the front desk and in the scheduling queue. A denial report shows the result, but the cause sits in an earlier step.
What tools do practices use against denials?
Experian found that 56.0% of providers think their current technology is enough for claims work. In 2022 the figure was 77.0%. Nearly eight in ten providers use multiple solutions to submit claims.
AI use is still small. Only 14.0% of Experian's respondents use it today, though 67.0% believe it can improve the claims process. Among users, 69.0% said AI reduced denials or improved resubmission success. Nearly 90.0% of resubmissions still get some human review.
Veradigm found that 79.0% of leaders call technology very or extremely important to staying independent. Another 88.0% think AI and automation could bring at least moderate efficiency gains, and 57.0% expect a significant or major improvement from better automation.
Confidence in current tools is lower than that demand suggests. Veradigm reported 64.0% of leaders are extremely or very confident in the tools they have for cutting documentation burden. Meanwhile, 65.0% say clinicians spend at least one hour a day on documentation outside visits, and 26.0% say two hours or more.
Sources
- Medical Economics, 4 in 5 independent practices say this is what's keeping them independent, May 6, 2026
- Veradigm, Independent Medical Practice Challenges 2026, August 13, 2026
- Experian Health, State of Claims 2025, September 23, 2025
- HMP Global Learning Network, Claim denials increasing, providers struggle with staffing and data issues survey finds, October 10, 2025
- Physicians Practice, 9 workflows driving your claim denials, ranked, August 18, 2026
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