Emergency medicine has never been easy — but 2026 is raising the stakes.
As emergency physicians and practice leaders gather in San Diego, CA, January 20–22, 2026, for ACEP Accelerate, the conversations are extending well beyond clinical performance. Declining reimbursement, staffing shortages, payer scrutiny, and rising patient financial responsibility are forcing EM groups to take a harder look at how the business of emergency medicine is run — and how revenue is protected.
“Emergency departments sit at the front door of healthcare, but financially, they’re often asked to operate with limited visibility and increasing risk,” said Mike Conklin, Vice President of Business Development with Zotec Partners. “Our goal is to give EM leaders clarity, control, and confidence across the entire revenue cycle.”
What Emergency Medicine Groups Are Worried About in 2026
Unpredictable reimbursement and payer pressure
Emergency medicine groups continue to face shifting payer policies, increased denials, and delayed payments — often for reasons outside of their control. Medical necessity challenges, modifier scrutiny, and inconsistent payer rules make it difficult to forecast revenue accurately. Zotec’s end-to-end RCM platform helps EM groups proactively manage these risks through intelligent workflows, payer-specific logic, and real-time performance monitoring.
Staffing shortages driving operational strain
From the emergency department to the business office, staffing shortages remain one of the biggest challenges for EM practices. Zotec combines automation, analytics, and specialty-specific expertise to reduce manual work across coding, billing, and accounts receivable — helping groups scale operations without adding administrative burden.
Coding accuracy under increasing scrutiny
Emergency medicine coding continues to evolve, with greater attention on documentation, complexity, and compliance. Zotec supports EM practices with technology-enabled coding workflows designed to improve accuracy, consistency, and defensibility — reducing downstream denials and audit risk while ensuring appropriate reimbursement.
Growing patient financial responsibility
As more financial responsibility shifts to patients, emergency medicine groups face rising bad debt and patient dissatisfaction. Zotec’s patient financial experience solutions help practices communicate clearly, offer flexible payment options, and reduce confusion — improving collections while maintaining trust with the communities they serve.
Limited visibility into financial performance
Many EM leaders lack real-time insight into how their revenue cycle is performing across facilities, payers, and service lines. Zotec delivers actionable analytics and reporting that provide transparency into key performance indicators — empowering leaders to make informed decisions faster.
Why Emergency Medicine Groups Choose Zotec
Zotec Partners delivers a purpose-built revenue cycle platform designed for the unique demands of emergency medicine. By combining advanced technology, automation, and deep specialty expertise, Zotec helps EM groups:
Unlike generic billing vendors, Zotec understands the complexity, pace, and variability of emergency medicine — and builds solutions that work in real-world ED environments.
Connect With Zotec at ACEP Accelerate 2026
Zotec Partners will be on site at ACEP Accelerate 2026 to meet with emergency medicine leaders and demonstrate how smarter, more transparent revenue cycle management can help stabilize financial performance in an increasingly challenging environment.
Attendees are invited to stop by the Zotec booth to learn how the right combination of technology, data, and specialty expertise can help emergency medicine practices take control of their revenue cycle — today and into 2026 and beyond.
