The health care industry has benefited from the use of data analytics to refine everything from patient services to staff management. When it comes to industry-specific solutions, health care is one of the areas that offers the most options, however, a new report suggests that organizations could be saving hundreds of billions of dollars every year by focusing their analytics efforts on the financial side of their operations.

The study was published in the public health journal BMC Health Service Research and states that more efficient management of billing and other financial data could save as much as $375 billion annually, or a staggering 15 percent of all U.S. health care costs. Achieving the full potential savings would take a major overhaul of billing systems, but there is little question that it would be worth the effort.

While an industry and nationwide adoption of a unified payer system is not realistic, there is some reason for optimism. The latest revision of the ICD-10 Procedure Coding System went into effect in October, putting more of a focus on revenue management. The percentage of industry costs that go to billing and insurance alone more than doubled between 1980 and 2010, ballooning to over $470 billion, so health care providers should embrace the opportunity to reduce that figure.

Even minor adjustments to data solutions could save $40 billion per year, according to the researchers. As the American health care industry undergoes major legislative and operational changes, the organizations at the forefront of analytics adoption will emerge as the most efficient and financially sound.