Accounting & Financial Management

Though supply chain professionals are keenly aware of the importance of quality and cost, their clinical counterparts may not be as familiar with an organized movement to link these two components with patient outcomes.

As cost control initiatives take on increasing weight at hospitals and health systems, organizations must focus more intently on stemming the costs of medical device procurement.

Hospitals' struggle for financial sustainability continues and may be getting worse, as CFOs say information technology investments draw more resources than expected and threaten to crowd out other priorities.

Hospitals and health systems want to mitigate their compliance spend as much as possible, as well as reduce the odds of facing large penalties for being out of compliance. The path to lowering the costs of compliance starts with putting appropriate policies and procedures in place -- and getting the right people at the table to make that happen.

It's the rare hospital that has never experienced delays in receiving reimbursement as a result of clinical documentation coding snafus. But hospitals that don't make a serious stab at clinical documentation improvement (CDI) will be poised to take an even harder hit come October 2015, the start date for ICD-10 implementation.

While some health systems are reluctant to publish prices without reforms of insurance practices and proper context for patients, some are trying to embrace transparency as a new model. Washington State's Everett Clinic is one of those pioneers.

In the past, hospitals had one role: deliver care. But in recent years, some of the largest hospitals and health systems have assumed the financial risk of delivering care. In the past, hospitals had one role: deliver care. But in recent years, some of the largest hospitals and health systems have assumed the financial risk of delivering care.

Insurance industry margins are only about 5 to 6 percent and it is a notoriously difficult business to run. Still, providers are increasingly moving into the insurance industry, and for some, it has been a good addition to their business model.

HCA's bet on walk-in clinics in a bustling metropolitan area is the latest evidence of the urgent need to improve and diversify the customer experience.

It's never been more difficult for healthcare providers to collect payment for services provided. These recommendations will help you get the most from your efforts and avoid costly mistakes.