Blogs in Hospitals & IDNs

RACs roll with OIG

 March 09, 2010 Cheryl Servais
We all suspected it, but now it's official: RACs will be providing information to CMS for follow-up on cases of possible fraud. MORE
 (0)

Hospital executives tell patients - “Get a second opinion”

 March 09, 2010 Kester Freeman
There seems to be a misconception on the part of some patients out there. These patients think if they ask for a second medical opinion, it will offend the doctor they are currently seeing who is managing a particular health condition for them. MORE
 (0)

Focus on comprehensive documentation to prove medical necessity

 March 04, 2010 Barbara Vandegrift
Clinical and administrative staff at many organizations are struggling with the issue of what "medically necessary" really means. MORE
 (0)

Hospitalists and the patient experience

 March 02, 2010 Mike Stephens
The growing shortage of general internal medicine physicians is occurring at a time when an aging population will require more, not fewer, to provide primary care. MORE
 (0)

Why medical costs can be so high

 March 01, 2010 Kester Freeman
Have you ever wondered exactly what you or your insurance provider are being charged for after you have been hospitalized? MORE
 (0)

Disgraceful patient care is never acceptable

 February 24, 2010 Mike Daly
My wife is a cancer patient and what happened to her recently should be a lesson to all caregivers. MORE
 (1)

No Country For Young Nurses

 February 22, 2010 Olga Khazan
For years, nursing schools lured students with the promise that they would be snapped up by prestigious hospitals upon graduation, remunerated for their hard work with good pay and enviable job security. And they were right - until now, that is. MORE
 (0)

Physicians and rehab facilities are now RAC targets

 February 19, 2010 Ernie De Los Santos
Analysis of the newly posted issues from Connolly Healthcare and Health Data Insights reveals that for first time Rehabilitation Facilities and Physician Practices are now more heavily targeted than before. MORE
 (0)

A hospital executive's advice to Obama

 February 17, 2010 Ed Howe
From the vantage point of having run a large U.S. healthcare system, I can see that certain strategic changes are needed in order to make President Obama’s healthcare reform goals a reality. MORE
 (0)

Newest PEPPER data now available for hospitals

 February 16, 2010 Barbara Vandegrift
There's a new PEPPER report, and those who know that the acronym isn't just an all-around-useful kitchen spice can now go to My Quality Net to obtain a copy. MORE
 (0)

Connolly posts 19 new DRG validation issues

 February 11, 2010 Ernie De Los Santos
Connolly Healthcare, the RAC for Region C, has posted 19 new approved issues for Complex Review on their RAC Issues page. MORE
 (0)

How the legit get hit

 February 10, 2010 Nancy Beckley
Providers in Florida have gotten used to all the jokes about our fine state, and in particular the one about the city of Miami being the epicenter, or ground zero, of Medicare fraud. MORE
 (0)

RACs to establish per campus caps

 February 08, 2010 Barbara Vandegrift
The recent announcement by CMS regarding its modification of additional documentation requests for institutional providers during fiscal year 2010 has generated considerable response from providers seeking clarification about tax identification numbers and definitions of terms like "campus." MORE
 (0)

Is it worth the effort to rebut RAC findings?

 February 05, 2010 Cheryl Servais
Our preliminary statistics indicate that more than half of RAC findings for complex reviews should be rebutted due to documentation that was overlooked or guidelines that were not applied correctly. MORE
 (0)

Why the iPad is not ready for prime time in healthcare

 February 04, 2010 Peggy Polaneczky, MD
Is the iPad, as some are suggesting, the next big thing in medicine? The answer, sadly, is not just yet. MORE
 (0)

Creating a RAC steering committee in your hospital

 February 04, 2010 Bret Bissey
One of the challenges currently existing within our hospitals involves sorting out all of the different priorities bidding for the attention of leadership. One challenge many leaders may be facing is "how do we keep RACs in front of everyone?" MORE
 (0)

CMS expands RAC records request limits

 February 02, 2010 RACMonitor
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services modified its FY2010 Additional Documentation Request (ADR) Limits, expanding the scope of the rule to include all institutional providers. MORE
 (0)

Nurses must be included in healthcare decision-making

 February 01, 2010 Diana Mason
I’ve grown weary of the public continuing to rate nurses as the most trusted profession only to have leaders in health care agree but ignore us. MORE
 (0)

Controller takes action and forms RAC team

 January 21, 2010 Cheryl Servais
We all know that the RACs are here, but what should we be doing to be in the best position to minimize the stress that their audits could cause? The controller at a Kentucky hospital has some suggestions. MORE
 (0)

Haiti needs help from U.S. hospitals

 January 19, 2010 Action for Better Healthcare
According to the American Hospital Association, the White House is asking hospitals that wish to make donations to the Haitian earthquake relief effort to register online. MORE
 (1)