Topics

Reimbursement

Smoking cessation efforts may reduce avoidable hospital readmissions

Smoking linked to higher readmissions

Revenue Cycle Management

Revenue cycle, billing improvements trump lawsuits when it comes to collecting

Rev cycle, billing improvements boost collections

Strategic Planning

Close to one-third of healthcare employees have never received cybersecurity training, report shows

One-third of healthcare employees lack cybersecurity training

Capital Finance

Half of healthcare leaders say artificial intelligence will yield positive return on investment in 3 years

Half of leaders say AI will yield ROI in 3 years

Supply Chain

Optimizing the total performance of a healthcare supply chain means data and clinical integration

Optimizing the total performance of the supply chain

Accounting & Financial Management

Profitability declined in August as volumes begin to soften, says Kaufman Hall

Report: Profitability down, volumes soft

Budgeting

Pressures of value-based care reforms trigger sharp increase in clinical outsourcing partnerships

Value-based care pressures driving outsourcing

Quality and Safety

Hospitals face rising risk of sophisticated cyberattacks

Hospitals face rising risk of cyberattacks

Billing and Collections

Poor digital billing process associated with uncollected payments

Poor digital billing associated with collections

Claims Processing

BCBS Institute and Solera partner, pay SDoH organizations through outcomes-based medical claims

BCBS Institute, Solera, to pay organizations through outcomes-based claims

Workforce

2018 cohort of newly-certified physician assistants is the youngest and largest yet

Largest and youngest group of PAs now certified

Operations

Some ICU admissions may be preventable, saving money and improving care

Preventing some ICU admissions can save money

Medical Devices

Apple is developing custom health information tracking chips

Apple is developing custom health chips

Hospital/physician relations

Women in healthcare face more harassment, have fewer opportunities and lower wages, study shows

Women: Fewer opportunities, lower wages

Construction & Facilities Management

Cape Cod Healthcare building $180M patient tower, investing in EHR

CCHC building $180M patient tower

Compliance & Legal

Genetic testing company accused of Medicare fraud settles for $42.6 million

Medicare fraud: Company settles for $42.6M

Policy and Legislation

Federal requirements for sharing patient medical records pose challenges, opportunities

Many unfamiliar with law requiring access, interoperability

Community Benefit

Advocate Aurora Health contributed $2.1 billion to community charitable care and services in 2018

Advocate Aurora: $2.1B in charity care

Accountable Care

Coordinated care model leads to decreases in unscheduled, preventable hospitalizations

Coordinated care in OR decreases preventable hospitalizations

Acute Care

Pressure ulcers cost the health system $26.8 billion a year

Pressure ulcers cost the health system $26.8B a year

Ambulatory Care

Medical schools, teaching hospitals account for 3% of US GDP, report shows

Med schools, teaching hospitals are 3% of GDP

Analytics

Anthem, MassChallenge HealthTech to collaborate on accelerator launch

Anthem, MassChallenge HealthTech launching accelerator

Business Intelligence

While the price of healthcare is growing, utilization is dropping and price variations persist, report says

HCCI: Price of healthcare is growing, utilization is dropping, price variations persist

ICD-10 & Coding

Physician practices examine risk adjustment coding in wake of federal lawsuits

Practices keeping close watch on risk adjustment coding

Meaningful Use

CMS overhauls meaningful use EHR program, renames it 'Promoting Interoperability'

CMS overhauls meaningful use as 'Promoting Interoperability'

Medicare & Medicaid

Medication adherence a big factor in Medicare Advantage star ratings

Medication adherence a big factor in MA star ratings

Patient Engagement

Online patient portal usage linked to higher rates of flu shots, blood pressure checks

Patient portals linked to more flu shots, blood pressure checks

Pharmacy

Expanding biosimilars market holds potential for significant savings to state Medicaid programs

Biosimilars: Saving money for state Medicaid programs

Population Health

Sentara Health partners on $100 million investment to improve housing in Virginia

Sentara Health partners to give $100M to improve housing

Risk Management

Hospital employees are clicking on phishing emails, and that's a problem, JAMA study shows

JAMA: Hospital employees are clicking on phishing emails

Telehealth

UnitedHealthcare app gives members on-demand access to telehealth services

UnitedHealthcare app gives members on-demand access to telehealth services

Mergers & Acquisitions

Federal court sides with CVS Health/Aetna on their merger

Federal court sides with CVS/Aetna

Top Stories

When doctors address bad reviews, patient satisfaction can double

Addressing bad reviews can boost patient satisfaction

Health insurance tax, not rebates, greatest threat to affordability, UnitedHealth Group CEO says

HIT, not rebates, greatest threat to affordability

See where the critical access hospitals are located

Where the critical access hospitals are

Nov 13, 2014

Managerial Insights: Emotional IQ

Healthcare Finance Staff

Infographic provided by the University of Maryland School of Business.

News

Healthcare mergers and acquisitions in 2016: Running list

Healthcare mergers and acquisitions in 2016: Running list While 2015 was a record-breaking year in healthcare mergers and acquisitions, 2016 saw more change as organizations across the industry adjust and adapt to the evolving financial landscape.

Once-failing hospitals say accountability, transparency key to surviving fallout from failing patient safety grades

Once-failing hospitals say accountability, transparency key to surviving fallout from failing patient safety grades When Leapfrog released their Spring 2016 patient safety grades recently, 15 hospitals got slapped with a very public 'F' grade casting a spotlight on them that no institution wants. ...

Analyze this: Health systems, health plans get to the core of big data

Analyze this: Health systems, health plans get to the core of big data Pamela Peele knows that people who subscribe to cooking magazines have a much higher risk of going to the emergency room. But how she knows that is a whole other story.

Whitepapers

Clinical Quality Measures 101

Clinical Quality Measures 101 Although quality-reporting programs such as meaningful use provide incentives to help providers implement and use electronic health records (EHRs) to collect and report on clinical data, practices often need help deciding what data to collect, which measures to report ...

Featured Resources

Debunk the Myth: Outsourcing Doesn't Mean Losing Control With shifts in payer mixes and reimbursement structure, the margin of reimbursement has been shrinking steadily over the last five years. How do revenue cycle leaders navigate payment reform while maintaining stable business office operations?

Care Collaboration Success for Improved Outcomes The nature of our healthcare ecosystem has been one of siloed care. Rarely do payers, providers and local resources come together with the patient's well-being prioritized as a unifying mission. Read how these organizations are getting it right.

Beyond Dollars and Cents: A Closer Look At Value Beyond the expected improvement in specific metrics, many organizations that outsource RCM with a trusted and certified partner are seeing several ancillary benefits of such agreements.

MostPopular

Cigna expands its ACA footprint

BCBS of Illinois invests $1M in housing

Brand-name drug rebates reduced spending growth

Hospitals, insurers object to posting negotiated rates

News

Once-failing hospitals say accountability, transparency key to surviving fallout from failing patient safety grades

Once-failing hospitals say accountability, transparency key to surviving fallout from failing patient safety grades When Leapfrog released their Spring 2016 patient safety grades recently, 15 hospitals got slapped with a very public 'F' grade casting a spotlight on them that no institution wants. ...

Analyze this: Health systems, health plans get to the core of big data

Analyze this: Health systems, health plans get to the core of big data Pamela Peele knows that people who subscribe to cooking magazines have a much higher risk of going to the emergency room. But how she knows that is a whole other story.

Healthcare mergers and acquisitions in 2016: Running list

Healthcare mergers and acquisitions in 2016: Running list While 2015 was a record-breaking year in healthcare mergers and acquisitions, 2016 saw more change as organizations across the industry adjust and adapt to the evolving financial landscape.

Whitepapers

Gaining Actionable Insight into Financial Systems and Areas Impacting the Revenue Cycle

Gaining Actionable Insight into Financial Systems and Areas Impacting the Revenue Cycle Hospital systems across the country are looking to streamline their billing and collection processes to become more efficient and better compete in their markets. The challenge many face is how to turn the data ...