Revenue Cycle Management
A new report by Trust for America's Health says prevention improves health and productivity and saves billions, but is prevention really cost effective?
Administrators at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston firmly believe that one man's trash is another man's treasure. As a result, this month the hospital is starting a pilot program that could potentially take a common hospital trash item and turn it into a bit of profit.
As millions of folks across the country are hitting the gym to trim up for summer, hospitals are also looking to trim fat from their budgets as well. Tightening up can be as simple as controlling capital spending, according to John McCarthy, general manager of asset management, GE Healthcare. Here, McCarthy outlines ways in which hospital executives can curb their capital spending, while still being productive and efficient.
One of the biggest challenges hospitals face is getting paid. There's a long list of headaches contributing to a very challenging landscape in the medical billing world. Michele Hilton, general manager of medical billing services, ADP AdvancedMD, offers a little painkiller cocktail to preemptively strike against the headaches of medical billing.
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) on Friday debated how to change the payment method for chronically critically ill patients in acute care and long-term care hospitals so they are more accurate and based on patient needs.
The Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare) requires health plans to spend at least 80 or 85 percent of premiums on medical expenses and quality improvement - 80 percent for small groups and individuals and 85 percent for large groups.
With recent studies indicating that music reduces agitation and depression in people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, long-term care operators have begun adding music therapy programs to the services they offer residents. One operator is finding that using music therapy is benefitting the business as well as the residents.
The move to electronic health records could mean more money should be earmarked from general services budgets.
Implementing a self-pay revenue cycle strategy is probably one of the biggest challenges facing hospital financial executives. As healthcare providers are more focused than ever before on increasing revenue, this issue has become that much more important to a successful overall revenue cycle strategy.
Participation in a national hospital project has shown one small Maine hospital the importance of business intelligence tools as it adapts to a value-based business model.