Uncategorized Archives - Page 71 of 92 - BHM Healthcare Solutions

Will Medicare Cover Telehealth?

October 3, 2014

No doubt that in the coming years, telehealth will become a fundamental part of how doctors diagnose and treat patients. Of major concern for both providers and patients is, if this new technology becomes commonplace, who will pay for it?

Telehealth, like most medical interventions, isn’t cheap. In order to have computer systems that can be used for teleconferencing, as well as the HIPAA compliant programs for videos [editor’s note: of which Skype is not]. Then, of course, after the initial purchasing costs come the costs of implementation, the cost of training and the cost of ongoing maintenance of the programs and systems.

5 ED Throughput Measures Your ED Needs to Face Ebola

October 2, 2014

In the light of the first-ever confirmed Ebola case in the United States, questions of procedure and preparedness are humming throughout all fifty states. The patient, a Liberian man who had left Africa and arrived in Texas before symptoms began, has become the center of media attention this week. So to, has the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital become something of a media darling – in so far as they are being heavily scrutinized.

Will Health Websites be Safe for Patients?

October 1, 2014

When you do a Google search, chances are you know to look for ‘reputable’ websites in order to find answers to your inquiry. Generally speaking, the breakdown of various “dots” would be as follows:

.com is for commercial, for profit sites

.org is for nonprofit organizations (like hospitals)

.net or .biz which can be perfectly legitimate but don’t carry quite as much credibility as a registered .com domain

.gov which is reserved for government institutions and programs

.edu – which is always linked to an educational institute of some kind.

One Year Since CMS Cracked Down on Readmissions | Where Are We Now?

September 30, 2014

October 1st of last year, CMS cracked down on readmission rates for hospitals nationwide, handing out millions of dollars in penalties. The Affordable Care Act put these measures into place in order to curb the problem of readmissions, which are not only costly, but reflect an overall poor population health in the U.S. – especially for those patients with chronic conditions.

For FY ‘14, 2% was withheld from payments per the guidelines for penalties. By 2015, the rate of withholding for penalties is expected to top 3%. In addition to the higher payments, there will also be additional diagnoses included in the readmission criteria list – it began with heart attacks, pneumonia and heart failure and will now expand to include COPD and complications from chronic lung conditions.

2-Midnight Rule Continues to Confuse

September 29, 2014

It’s been almost a year since CMS’ final ruling on the Inpatient Prospective Payment System went into effect and in that twelve month period there have been several additions made regarding conditions of payment and certifications. In case you need a refresher, the “2-Midnight Rule” is frequently talked about in healthcare and refers to criteria for determining if a patient should be classified as an admission or observation status for coding and billing purposes. While the level of treatment may not necessarily seem different from the patient’s perspective, there are subtle differences that are extremely important to how the account is coded and ultimately billed for. It also needs to be explicitly documented with intention as an inpatient admission in the patient’s chart.

The Doctor Will Skype You Now | Changing How We Go to the Doctor

September 26, 2014

With flu season upon us, healthcare providers and patients alike are gearing up for a busy time of year in the office. As office schedulers know, trying to accommodate all the patients a doctor needs to see in a given day is tricky enough without the added stress of flu season – when doctors are likely to need to see even more patients and hospitals will no doubt see an uptick in admissions and emergency room visits.

Don’t Like the Sound of ACOs? Here is an Alternative

September 25, 2014

Most experts agree that it’s still too early yet to know for sure if ACOs will succeed, but many who are poised for its failure have started designing alternatives. One of them seems a little counter-intuitive: Non-Payment.

Healthcare Spending | Administrative Costs out of Control

September 24, 2014

When we talk about healthcare spending being “out of control” does anyone ever say why? The Commonwealth Fund survey breaks down the costs of healthcare administration- which make up a quarter of all healthcare spending in the U.S.

Top 5 Reasons Physicians Are Unhappy

September 22, 2014

Research completed by Jackson Healthcare yielded an incredibly array of data on physician satisfaction. While healthcare is increasingly interested and motivated to obtain and analyze patient satisfaction, perhaps not enough attention is being paid to provider satisfaction. According to the data, which assessed not just provider disatisfaction, but also satisfaction, it might behoove the healthcare industry to keep an eye on physician happiness, too.

5 Trends in Healthcare Reimbursement

September 19, 2014

The subject of physician compensation is a hot one as of late. With all the changes in the financial sector of healthcare, and the push to save money, there has likewise been a focus on how- and how much- physicians are being compensated.

ACOs

A major change that has already begun to take place in many healthcare systems nationwide is Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). While it’s likely too soon to know if they will work long term, in theory they will reduce the tendency of ‘silos’ in healthcare and lead to better coordination of patient care.

Call Us