Strategic Planning

Here's your chance to tell us what you or your organization expects to tackle in 2015, from upgrading revenue cycle software to capital investment to managing through the implications of healthcare reform.

The "medical home" concept has become counterproductive. It is muddling the debate about how to improve medical care without raising costs, and it is punishing primary care clinics.

Here's a look at some more recent headlines in the world of healthcare finance.

The agreement, effective Jan. 1, aims to give Humana Medicare Advantage members better care and lower costs at Aurora's health network.

Managed care organization Health Net Inc. said this week that it has formed an accountable care organization with John Muir Health, bringing together a network of medical centers and physicians to cover three counties in California.

Minneapolis-based health system Allina Health intends to work with Salt Lake City-based data warehousing company Health Catalyst on a 10-year initiative to build a new model for improving outcomes system-wide.

While many hospitals are wondering what their access to credit will be in the New Year, experts say little will likely change compared to 2014.

No matter what system is used for communicating patient information between physicians, it should be routinely assessed for deficiencies.

Walgreens said it is cutting ties with two accountable care organizations, though the nation's largest pharmacy chain has also launched a new partnership on the West Coast to help manage ACO patients.

The expansion of insurance coverage to some 10 million individuals in 2014 has implications for the growth rate in national health expenditures and on health workforce requirements. While there is broad agreement that spending and utilization will be pushed upward, there is much debate about the amounts.