Revenue Cycle Management

At its 2016 ANI event, the Healthcare Financial Management Association on Sunday named 150 healthcare providers as leaders for adopting best practices when it comes to patient financial communications, an important benchmark as patient financial responsibility rises.

Higher numbers of payers and practice managers coming to the show, underscoring the need for collaboration in the face of volume-to-value shift.

As the industry shifts toward population health initiatives and new value-based reimbursement models with the twin goals of reducing total cost of care and improving quality of care, it requires infrastructure investment and development.

As value-based reimbursement becomes the norm, consumers demand better-quality care, and federal agencies put new regulations in place, provider executives are feeling the impact. And perhaps no leader feels the effects of these changes more so than the chief financial officer.

With the ICD-10 transition now behind them, leaders at Mission Health System in Asheville, NC, have their sights set on the future of clinical documentation.

Winning health systems this year include: AtlantiCare Health System in Atlantic City, New Jersey; Geisinger Health System in Danville, Pennsylvania; Presbyterian Healthcare Services in Albuquerque, New Mexico; St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, Kentucky; and Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics in Tyler, Texas.

Experts say patient portals can offer financial benefits that improve collections, reduce staff workload and better engage patients.

The move could signal the beginnings of a new wave of RCM work in healthcare, a market emphasis that analysts figure is a multi-billion dollar opportunity.

Caleb Anderson said that one potential option is to have a vendor run the patient call center, submit claims, handle denials and more.

CareCredit-backed survey found 44 percent of those asked were not aware of financing options.