Hospital Access Management articles from November 2004

Hospital Access Management archives from November 2004

Six Sigma process greatly increases New Jersey ED's cash collections: methodology is new to health care.
November 1, 2004... A thriving emergency department (ED) cash collection program is the latest manifestation of Marlton, NJ-based Virtua Health's use of an innovative quality assurance and process improvement strategy called Six Sigma. The ED project has been...

Six Sigma teams define, measure, and analyze: barriers, opportunities identified.(use of Six Sigma in hospitals)
November 1, 2004... It's impossible to fully explain Marlton, NJ-based Virtua Health s emergency department (ED) cash collections project without discussing the multihospital health system's Six Sigma quality assurance program, officials there say. Motivated...

'No right or wrong answer' on call center functions: performance monitoring a necessity.(hospital call centers)
November 1, 2004... (The discussion of call centers that began in the October Hospital Access Management continues this month with some follow-up questions--posed by Gillian Cappiello, CHAM, senior director of access services and chief privacy officer for Swedish...

How to implement HIPAA without breaking the bank: lessons learned from one health care organization.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
November 1, 2004... Thinking creatively, but not expensively, is the key to meeting HIPAA requirements with a limited budget, according to Maria Woods, vice president for compliance and regulatory affairs at Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers (SVCMC) of New...

Medicare to make greater use of the internet: data on non-HIPAA-compliant claims captured.
November 1, 2004... Medicare continues to work closely with contractors, providers, billing agents, clearinghouses, and software vendors to achieve HIPAA goals and will be making greater use of the Internet and working on implementation of electronic attachments...

HIPAA enforcement aimed at achieving compliance: most complaints about claims payment.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act )
November 1, 2004... Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of HIPAA Standards staffer Dianne Faup says the agency has received more than 200 transaction/code set complaints, with some 58 still open at the time of her September presentation to the...

Security rule guidance issued to covered entities.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Entities covered under the HIPAA security rule are not required to certify compliance with provisions of the rule, according to guidance issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The security rule does, however, require covered...

Journalists complain about HIPAA privacy restrictions.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
November 1, 2004... The Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) says all journalists, and particularly those working for electronic media, have been hampered in their work by actual HIPAA privacy requirements and by interpretations of those...

Guilty plea in first HIPAA privacy case.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A SeaTac, WA, man pleaded guilty in federal court to wrongful disclosure of individually identifiable health information for economic gain. The guilty plea entered by Richard Gibson, 42, was the first criminal conviction under the HIPAA privacy...

Civil money penalties rule extended.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The Department of Health and Human Services extended for one year the Sept. 16, 2004, expiration date for an interim final rule establishing procedures for imposition of civil money penalties on entities that violate HIPAA administrative...

Outsourcing, consulting opportunities on tap for well-prepared AM professionals: technology, revenue cycle skills most valuable.(access management professionals)
November 1, 2004... Increases in outsourcing, the merging of health care organizations, and changes in the consulting business may equal some new opportunities for qualified access management professionals. Skills that will be most in demand, several health...

Labs don't need MSP information: CMS clarifies regulation.(Medicare Secondary Payer)
November 1, 2004... Hospitals no longer are required to collect Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) information where there is no face-to-face encounter with a beneficiary, thanks to a recent clarification by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The...

Success factors noted for ED patient flow.(emergency department management)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Eight common factors were identified as critical for success in improving patient flow in the nation's emergency departments (ED) in a report from the Urgent Matters Learning Network, a national initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation....

Proposed rule targets improper payments.(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule on improper payments)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... States would be required to estimate improper payments to health care providers and insurers for Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs under a proposed rule published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). ...

JCAHO hikes fees for hospital surveys.(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Hospitals will be charged about 10% more in fees for their triennial survey by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), beginning in January 2005. On average, hospitals will see a $2,700 increase in survey...

HMO profits soar from 2002 to 2003.(US health maintenance organizations)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... The nation's HMOs nearly doubled their profits during 2003 to $10.2 billion, an 86% increase from the $5.5 billion reported in 2002, according to an analysis by Weirs Ratings Inc. The company, which rates the financial strength of insurers,...

Almost all hospitals to get payment update.(Medicare payment update for quality of care data)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Nearly every eligible acute care hospital in the country has successfully shared data on the quality of care it provides and will receive a full Medicare payment update of 3.3% next year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has...

Panel will certify electronic records.(Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology )(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... A Panel appointed to certify electronic health records designed for use in the outpatient setting will have initial certification requirements and processes ready for testing by summer 2005. The Certification Commission for Healthcare...

Reward efficiency from providers, report suggests.(Commonwealth Fund report on health care costs)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... To slow health care cost increases, public and private health plans need to reward health care providers for quality and efficiency and better manage care for patients with costly conditions, according to a recent report by Commonwealth Fund...