Clinical Operations Improvement Archives - Page 12 of 14 - BHM Healthcare Solutions

Observation Units – Bridging the Gap Between Inpatient and Outpatient

2017-04-02T13:28:41-04:00By BHM Marketing|Clinical Operations Improvement, Financial, Health Insurance, Readmissions, Services|

What is CMS doing to reduce healthcare costs? CMS has added observation units which are an additional level of care between inpatient and outpatient. What Are Observation Units? In general, observation units are used to bridge the gap between inpatient and outpatient. They are designed for the patient in which the attending physician cannot determine whether a patient should be classified as outpatient (released within 48 hours) or inpatient (expected to stay at least 2 midnights). The observation units enable the physician to have a bit more time to stabilize the patient and based on medical necessity determine the estimated length of stay. They are billed as outpatient and do not count toward an inpatient admission.

2 Midnight Rule |Maximize Reimbursement

2017-04-02T13:28:41-04:00By BHM Marketing|Clinical Operations Improvement, Financial, Health Insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, Services|

What is the 2 Midnight Rule? What does it mean for your organization? How does it affect the amount Medicare patient’s pay out of pocket? How does the 2 Midnight Rule affect reimbursement from both inpatient and outpatient perspectives? The 2 Midnight Rule establishes guidelines as to whether or not a physician should admit a patient from outpatient to inpatient. The general rule is if the patient, based upon medical necessity, is expected to require care that will span at least 2 midnights, the patient should be admitted as inpatient, and therefore reimbursable under Medicare Part A. In determining the 2 midnights, all care including outpatient is used in the determination. However, in terms of reimbursement, outpatient is reimbursed via Medicare Part B provisions and inpatient is reimbursed via Medicare Part A provisions.

HIPAA Compliant Text Messaging: Would You Use It?

2017-04-02T13:28:41-04:00By BHM Marketing|Clinical Operations Improvement, Operational Analysis, Services|

The market is rife with products that claim to be secure enough for a healthcare organization, but this can be difficult to verify. The companies responsible for creating some of the top notch EMRs on the market are also piloting projects around “mobile health” , but physicians and hospital administration remain wary.

Revenue Cycle Improvement Spotlight on CDI

2017-04-02T13:28:41-04:00By BHM Marketing|Clinical Operations Improvement, Financial, Services|

Those of us who work in Health Information Management understand the value of good documentation -- and we have especially keen senses when it comes to recognizing excellent documentation when we see it. That being said, we also know when we’re seeing documentation that isn’t so great. And together with medical billers and coders, we’re always looking for ways to improve it.

Ready or Not: ICD-10 Will Go Live as Planned Oct 1st

2017-04-02T13:28:43-04:00By BHM Marketing|Clinical Analysis, Clinical Operations Improvement, Services|

The Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) is moving ahead as planned with its October 1st compliance deadline for ICD-10 implementation. Many healthcare systems have requested that the deadline be postponed due to the mounting challenges they face with co-occurring Meaningful Use Stage 2 deadlines.

Would You Call 911 for a Hangnail?

2017-04-02T13:28:44-04:00By BHM Marketing|Clinical Analysis, Clinical Operations Improvement, Health Care Reform, Services|

Preventable visits to the Emergency Department are a significant source of waste contributing to the exorbitant costs of healthcare.

Meaningful Use Core Objectives: Patient Access and the Patient Portal

2017-04-02T13:28:44-04:00By BHM Marketing|Clinical Operations Improvement, Compliance|

If you’re like many healthcare organizations in the throes of achieving Stage 2 Meaningful Use you’re probably wondering how to decide what products or services will be the best fit for you. One of the major decisions will be choosing a patient portal service which meets the Meaningful Use Core Objectives.