Hospital Finance

How Hospitals Can Prepare For The Coming Wave Of Bundled Payments

Cath Lab, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, The Business of Surgery /

In December 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized regulations regarding the Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) Incentive Payment Model. This new bundled payment program affects over 1,100 hospitals nationwide and how they are paid for their heart attack and bypass surgery cases. The goal of this program, which has joined the orthopedic bundling […]

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Outsourcing of Complex Claims on the Upswing

Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Revenue Cycle, The Business of Surgery /

An increasing number of hospitals are turning to outsourced providers of complex claims management to help manage their hardest to collect dollars. The number of complex claims outsourced to specialists reached 39.8% in the 3rd quarter of 2016 – up from 20.4% in 2014. These complex claims typically take up an outsized portion of in-house

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How One Hospital Uses Advanced Analytics to Drive Savings and Improve Outcomes

Big Data, Cath Lab, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital IT, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Radiology, The Business of Surgery /

Geisinger Health System, a leading health system in Eastern Pennsylvania, has begun realizing tremendous benefits from a data analytics program established in 2015. The hospital’s Unified Data Architecture (UDA) collects and stores data from electronic medical records and other data sources to provide a holistic view of a patient’s health. Benefits of the UDA so

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OIG Audit of Abbott Northwestern Hospital Turns Up $8 Million in Medicare Overpayments

Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Regulatory Compliance, Revenue Cycle, The Business of Surgery /

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently released the report of its findings from an audit conducted at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, MN.  Based on a review of 162 claims from 2013 and 2014, the OIG found a potential of $933,991 in over payments.  Extrapolated over the 2-year

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How Physician Feedback Can Save Millions In Your OR

Big Data, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Operational Efficiency, The Business of Surgery /

Putting surgeons in the know regarding their OR spend can help hospitals reduce costs drastically. This is the main finding from a study published in JAMA Surgery by a study team at the University of California, San Francisco. A test group of surgeons who received monthly feedback on their OR costs reduced their spend by

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How Operating Rooms Are Throwing Millions of Dollars Away Each Year

Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Supply Chain, The Business of Surgery /

Disposable medical supplies are responsible for over 2,000 tons of physical waste per day, and they are making a huge impact on OR profits. A recent study by University of California, San Francisco noted that an average of nearly $1,000 of disposable medical supplies per procedure were wasted in their neurosurgical department. This equated to

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Moving to the ‘Rep-Less’ Model For Medical Devices to Save Money and Reduce Risk

Cath Lab, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Radiology, The Business of Surgery /

Moving to buying medical devices direct from manufacturers can yield huge financial benefits for hospitals. Loma Linda University Medical Center in California drastically eliminated reps in orthopedics after a long internal struggle to do so. They reported savings of about $1 million annually, or 50 percent on the cost of the devices, without affecting outcomes.

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Increase Surgical Revenue – Part 3 of 3 (Case Mix Index)

Cath Lab, Clinical Documentation, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Radiology, Revenue Cycle, The Business of Surgery /

What is Case Mix Index (CMI)? Medicare and Medicaid created a CMI score to help properly reimburse hospitals for services provided to inpatients (CMI doesn’t apply to outpatients). The CMI is an attempt to measure the resources needed to provide proper care for patients. An article from Health Leaders Media titled CDI Programs Drive Up Case

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Disruptive Technology Provides Pricing Transparency Between Hospitals Drives Significant Savings!

Big Data, Hospital Finance, The Business of Surgery /

I attended a fascinating session at the Becker’s Roundtable conference for CEO/CFO/CIO’s. Being a technology geek, I love hearing and seeing how technology is improving the cost of providing healthcare. The power of data can truly be amazing as in this example! For years, hospitals have been isolated from each other on how much they

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Increase Surgical Revenue – Part 2 of 3 (Documentation Improvement)

Cath Lab, Clinical Documentation, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Radiology, Supply Chain, The Business of Surgery /

Why is documentation so important for proper reimbursement for surgical procedures? In order to get properly reimbursed for a surgical procedure, you must be able to prove through documentation what you’re are trying to get reimbursedfor.  If you can’t prove it, then you will not get paid for it. Government programs such as Medicare and

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