Revenue Cycle Management

Hospitals are increasingly turning to credit checks to determine both an individual's ability to pay and to mine data on their patient population's health.

Though the cost savings tied to outsourcing revenue cycle operations for large-scale health systems can be attractive, healthcare finance leaders say there are more than a few details to consider before handing over these processes to a vendor.

About half participate in some type of an alternative payment model.

Revenue cycle management company ZirMed will launch its new Remit and Deposit Management system at HIMSS16, the company said.

J. Joel Hackney's appointment takes effect following Pamplona's buyout of MedAssets, a $2.7 billion deal announced in November.

The prices hospitals negotiate with private insurers vary considerably across geographies, according to a new study by the Health Care Pricing Project, driving huge variations in health care spending for the privately insured.

It's not about cost, but value, according to a panel of revenue cycle professionals who work in health systems that often charge more for care than other providers.

As patients face high deductibles, price is a major topic that's put pressure on healthcare providers to offer price transparency, even though what a hospital charges can be far different from what a patient actually owes after their insurance covers some of the costs.

St. Louis-based Ascension Health has tapped Accretive Health as its sole revenue cycle system provider, the nonprofit Catholic health system announced this week, under a new 10-year contract extension that includes the total revamp of its revenue cycle system.

The boundary between being a provider and a payer is blurring as hospitals face more risk, according to Joe Nichols of Health Data Consulting, prompting health systems to make changes to keep from losing too much money.