Healthcare Financial Management articles from February 2007

Healthcare Financial Management archives from February 2007

Health Information Exchange activities continuing to mature, says survey.(Health IT)
February 1, 2007... In late September, the eHealth Initiative released the results of its Third Annual Survey of Health Information Exchange at the State, Regional and Community Levels, which reports on 165 health IT initiatives in 49 states, the District of...

5 large companies working to provide lifelong personal health records for employees ...(NEWS WATCH)(Applied Materials Inc., BP America, Inc., Intel Corporation, Pitney Bowes, Inc., and Wal-Mart Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Five large U.S. employers have announced that they are funding an independent not-for-profit institute to develop "Dossia," a Web-based framework through which their employees, dependents, and retirees can maintain lifelong personal health...

... and the standardized health ID card may be on the way.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange has been working to standardize health identification cards. Standards will allow the healthcare industry to more easily promote network development and interoperability. In August 2006, a WEDI...

In previously issued instructions, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified independent laboratories that they may no longer bill the carrier for the technical component of a physician pathology service provided to a patient of a covered hospital after Dec. 31, 2006.(CMS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... ... In previously issued instructions, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services notified independent laboratories that they may no longer bill the carrier for the technical component of a physician pathology service provided to a patient...

This transmittal provides instructions to contractors.(CMS)
February 1, 2007... This transmittal provides instructions to contractors regarding the short-term implementation of this legislation.

Effective Nov. 6, 2006, Medicare covers PTA and stenting of intracranial arteries for the treatment of cerebral artery stenosis greater than or equal to 50 percent in patients with intracranial atherosclerotic disease when furnished in accordance with Food and Drug Administration-approved protocols governing Category B Investigational Device Exemption clinical trials.(CMS)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... ... Effective Nov. 6, 2006, Medicare covers PTA and stenting of intracranial arteries for the treatment of cerebral artery stenosis greater than or equal to 50 percent in patients with intracranial atherosclerotic disease when furnished in...

Per capita out-of-pocket expenses: United States, 1996-2004.(CMS)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Per Capita Out-of-Pocket Expenses: United States, 1996-2004 Per Capita Expenses Actual Inflation adjusted to 2004 levels 1996 $360.7 $434.3 1997 $395.6 $465.6 1998 $395.5 $458.3 1999 $414.0 $469.4...

Scottsdale Institute invites healthcare organizations to join IT cost benchmarking project.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The Scottsdale Institute, a not-for-profit dedicated to healthcare information management and process improvement, has announced the availability of a web-based tool and reporting mechanism to allow healthcare organizations to normalize their...

Americans concerned about safety, accuracy of electronic health records: survey.(NEWS WATCH)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Americans overwhelmingly want to have electronic copies of their medical records and believe that having greater access to their information will reduce medical mistakes and costly repeated procedures, according to a survey commissioned by the...

CMS has published a final rule (Federal Register, Dec. 8, 2006) establishing requirements for Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.(FEDERAL REGISTER)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... ... CMS has published a final rule (Federal Register, Dec. 8, 2006) establishing requirements for Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The PACE program is a model of managed care...

CMS has published a final rule (Federal Register, Dec. 8, 2006) regarding the Patients' Rights Condition of Participation, which is applicable to all Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals and contains standards that ensure minimum protections of each patient's physical and emotional health and safety.(FEDERAL REGISTER)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... ... CMS has published a final rule (Federal Register, Dec. 8, 2006) regarding the Patients' Rights Condition of Participation, which is applicable to all Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals and contains standards that ensure minimum...

Beginning July 1, 2007, hospitals are required to deliver a revised version of the "Important Message from Medicare," which informs Medicare beneficiaries who are hospital inpatients about their hospital discharge appeal rights.(FEDERAL REGISTER)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... ... Beginning July 1, 2007, hospitals are required to deliver a revised version of the "Important Message from Medicare," which informs Medicare beneficiaries who are hospital inpatients about their hospital discharge appeal rights. Hospitals...

A proposed rule (Federal Register, Dec. 28, 2006) prescribes double coverage payment procedures and makes revisions to TRICARE rules to accommodate beneficiaries who are eligible under both Medicare and TRICARE.(FEDERAL REGISTER)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... ... A proposed rule (Federal Register, Dec. 28, 2006) prescribes double coverage payment procedures and makes revisions to TRICARE rules to accommodate beneficiaries who are eligible under both Medicare and TRICARE, and who participate in...

Riding for a cure.(Member Spotlight)(funds to fight against leukemia)
February 1, 2007... Bob Johnson bicycled 109 miles at the age of 62--and raised more than $18,000 in the fight against leukemia. Bob Johnson, FHFMA, didn't even own a bike when he decided to ride 109 miles through the Tucson, Ariz., desert and mountains last...

To get the ball rolling, consensus on pay for performance is needed.(Viewpoint)(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The following commentary originally appeared in Quarterly Insights, a quarterly publication of HFMA's Managed Care Forum. To find out more about the Managed Care Forum and other HFMA forums, visit www.hfma.org/forums. Pay for performance,...

The nose knows.(University of California (Berkeley)'s research on sniffing)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Did you know that you could track the scent of a trail of chocolate in the grass, on all fours, with your nose alone? Sound like a job for a bloodhound? A new study shows that humans can follow a scent on the ground using the same zigzag...

HMOs: looking beyond the facade.(Health maintenance organizations)
February 1, 2007... hfm's February 1987 cover article, "HMOs: Looking Beyond the Facade to Establish True Value," presents a model to aid providers in determining whether investment in an HMO is worth the asking price. At that time, the growth of HMOs had resulted...

Site seeing.(executive compensation regulations)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The SEC's Executive Compensation and Related Person Disclosures Final Rule. This fact sheet discusses the salient points of the Securities and Exchange Commission final rule requiring disclosure of executive and director compensation as well as...

Parenting makes adults pudgier.(consumption of fats)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Parents consume more fat in their diets than other adults--the equivalent of an individually sized pepperoni pizza each week, according to a recent study. Researchers at the University of Iowa analyzed data from the Third National Health...

Correction.(ETCETERA)(Correction notice)
February 1, 2007... Regarding the December 2006 New Revenue Growth column: Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital will be celebrating its 15th anniversary this year (not 25th). Also, JDCH was named Broward's Best Pediatric Hospital for 11 consecutive years (not nine).

Overheard.(ETCETERA)(Correction notice)
February 1, 2007... "If you do make the prescription drug benefit more generous, that could get very, very expensive, and there's no obvious way to pay for that." --Bob Bixby, director of the Concord Coalition, a budget watchdog group, discussing the...

Survey says: need for qualified coders is critical.(ETCETERA)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Attracting highly skilled coders has become a tough task [or many healthcare organizations, according to a survey conducted by the American Health Information Management Association and the American Hospital Association. Of the 59 percent of...

A healthcare mystery: Alfred Hitchcock, I am not. I don't solve murder mysteries, and my silhouette looks nothing like his.(FROM THE CHAIRMAN)
February 1, 2007... When I traveled across the ocean, however, to attend the HFMA/UK 2006 annual conference, Beyond Our Borders, recently, I must admit I went trying to solve a bit of a mystery. The mystery? Which healthcare system is the best? What country...

Kenneth W. Kizer, MD: making a case for the EHR.(hfm Q & A)(dialogue with Kenneth W. Kizer)(electronic health record )(Interview)
February 1, 2007... The electronic health record has been championed as a key tool for improving the quality and safety of health care, but adoption of EHRs by providers has been slow, due in part to the high cost of implementation and concerns about privacy. But...

What's new? Isn't that always the question with technology?(FROM THE EDITOR)(Editorial)
February 1, 2007... Maybe it's the best thing since sliced bread. Or maybe it has the latest bells and whistles. Or maybe it's smoke and mirrors. When it comes to technology, we always talk about what's new. I doubt I've ever used the word technology in the...

HFMA launches Medicare payment community of practice.(Healthcare Financial Management Association)
February 1, 2007... HFMA is pleased to announce the launch of a new Community of Practice designed for HFMA members in Medicare payment leadership roles. HFMA's Medicare Payment Community of Practice is a subscription-based resource where participants design...

Revisions to DCMS approved by regional executives.(Davis Chapter Management System)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... HFMA's Regional Executive Council approved revisions to the Davis Chapter Management System, which include the adoption of a chapter balanced scorecard. The revisions, which were recommended by the 2005-07 Chairman's Task Force on the Davis...

Morgan award nominations due by Feb. 28.(HFMA NEWS)
February 1, 2007... Nominations for the Frederick C. Morgan Individual Achievement Award, HFMA's most prestigious individual honor, are due to HFMA National by Feb. 28. The Morgan Award, named for one of HFMA's founding members, is presented annually to an HFMA...

HFMA publishes Healthcare Finance Outlook 2007.(Healthcare Financial Management Association)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... HFMA's Healthcare Finance Outlook 2007, a report that combines HFMA member interest research with Association research, expert opinion, and recommendations for finance professionals, is available online now. HFMA's Healthcare Finance...

Pay for performance and physicians--an open question: pay for performance as a payment strategy in health care has continued to gain substantial momentum over this past year.(EYE ON WASHINGTON)
February 1, 2007... The recent push toward pay for performance has been spurred on by the rapid rates of increase in spending for health care, the continuing reports of large variations in spending for treating specific illnesses with little or no benefits...

A passion for pricing transparency.(Grinnell Regional Medical Center's Todd Nelson talks about health care costs)(Interview)
February 1, 2007... If the name Todd Nelson sounds familiar to you, there's a good reason. Besides his job as vice president and CFO of Grinnell Regional Medical Center--and aside from the many civic and community positions he holds in his hometown of Grinnell,...

IT: what's on the horizon.(BUSINESS TRENDS)
February 1, 2007... Technology is changing constantly and at a rapid pace. The processing power that was running supercomputers a few years ago is powering video games today. Technology is making great strides not only in processing power, bandwidth, and storage...

Internal auditing of the revenue cycle: are you getting your fair share?(REVENUE CYCLE)
February 1, 2007... The phrase "revenue cycle" has come to mean multiple things to different groups within a hospital. Originally, it signified the financial part of the patient's encounter, from registration to coding to submission and payment of a claim....

Treating technology as a luxury? 10 necessary tools: if you've been thinking that technology for improving healthcare financial management is a luxury, think again.
February 1, 2007... Tools. Everyone wants tools--to perform a job better, produce a better result, or achieve a better outcome. And healthcare organizations seem to want tools that are beyond the capabilities of most hospital legacy financial systems. But are...

Leveraging technology to drive revenue cycle results: how can you make the most of revenue cycle technology? Know the five keys to success in leveraging technology to boost your bottom line.(FEATURE STORY)(Cover story)
February 1, 2007... The revenue cycle challenges facing today's providers, whether broken processes or limited technology, are expansive and lead to lost revenue and less cash. Typical process challenges include inadequate preregistration activities that lead...

Data and dollars: how CDHC is driving the convergence of banking and health care: as never before, banks stand ready to enter a partnership with providers to secure payment for healthcare services delivered to today's new healthcare consumers--patients with HSAs.(Consumer-directed health care )
February 1, 2007... "Consumerism that is engaging consumers in their health and medical decisions may encourage improved health status of the people we serve while potentially controlling rising costs." --Consumerism in Health Care: An Initiative of the...

Measuring IT benefits: let us count the ways: healthcare organizations need to achieve value from every investment--including IT. But how is that value measured?(FEATURE STORY)
February 1, 2007... "It is not the goal but the way there that matters--and the harder the way, the more worthwhile the journey." --Sir Wilfred Thesiger, British explorer (1910-2003) Sir Wilfred's words are clearly not true in the business of health care....

The time is right for supply data synchronization: applying industrywide standards to electronic data processing in the healthcare supply chain can help eliminate problems that arise due to bad purchasing data.(FEATURE STORY)
February 1, 2007... The widespread adoption of e-commerce to drive efficiencies in business processes, including those associated with the healthcare supply chain, is one of the most important recent developments in health care. Few would deny the existence of...

Diagnose your coding problems: learn how to spot coding's most common ailments--and how to cure them.(FEATURE STORY)
February 1, 2007... At their best, clinical coding departments produce high-quality, consistent, timely data for reimbursement and reporting. However, when people, processes, or systems are faulty, organizations begin to experience chronic aches and...

What's the best approach to choosing IT? Implementing a new IT system is expensive, and if the system does not meet the organization's needs, the cost goes even higher.(information technology)
February 1, 2007... Even the most successful hospitals and health systems may find themselves at an uncomfortable and difficult-to-avoid crossroad: They need to upgrade their clinical, revenue cycle, or financial IT systems, but they don't know how to decide which...

Calculating the cost of charity care.(hfm TOOLBOX)
February 1, 2007... Hospitals need to account for charity care in a common, standardized way for at least four reasons. First, with the rising numbers of uninsured persons, hospital charity care costs also are rising. For both budget and advocacy purposes,...

Improving cash flow.(hfma roundtable)(Discussion)
February 1, 2007... Whether it's focusing on faster payment, more efficient accounts receivable management, or improved billing processes, providers that examine revenue cycle operations often find opportunities to improve cash flow. HFMA, with sponsorship from...

Changing leadership styles: the new leadership philosophy emphasizes purpose, process, and people.(LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT)
February 1, 2007... The dominant leadership philosophy over the past 50 years has been based on the premise that the organization is purely an economic entity. Under this philosophy, management's priority was to leverage the capital, the scarce resource, in the...

To achieve clinical quality improvement through IT, engage clinicians: it has become clear that the way to achieve clinical quality improvement through healthcare IT is to engage clinicians in system selection and implementation. But many hospitals find that easier said than done.(INSIDE IT)
February 1, 2007... And physicians are not the only ones who may not respond to your invitation to help; nurses are busy, and pharmacists already have their own system (right?). So what should be done to engage clinicians? First, have a plan--developed as part...

What would you do? Should this healthcare system acquire a hospital in an adjacent market?(STRATEGY CHALLENGE)
February 1, 2007... Introducing Our New Department! With this issue of hfm, we are introducing a new department, written by Alan M. Zuckerman, called "Strategy Challenge: What Would You Do?" With each case study, Zuckerman will present an actual situation...

Calendar.(Chart)(Calendar)
February 1, 2007... NATIONAL EVENTS February 12-15 HFMA will offer 13 seminars covering financial Winter Seminars management, the revenue cycle, managed care Charlotte, N.C. operations, and reimbursement and long-term ...

Cynthia Greathouse (Indiana Pressler Memorial chapter).(appointment of Cynthia Greathouse)(Central Maine Medical Family)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Ms. Greathouse has joined Central Maine Medical Family, Lewiston, Maine, as regional director of health information management. Formerly, she was manager, health sciences advisory services practice, Ernst & Young, LLP, Indianapolis.

Donald A. Sinko, CPA (Northeast Ohio chapter).(PEOPLE)
February 1, 2007... Mr. Sinko has been promoted from director of internal audit to chief integrity officer, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland.

Cathryne Bell (Lone Star chapter).(PEOPLE)
February 1, 2007... Ms. Bell has joined UT Southwestern Health Center, Dallas, as senior claims analyst. She had been patient account counselor, Saint Joseph Hospital, Orange, Calif.

Ron Benfield (Maryland chapter).(PEOPLE)
February 1, 2007... Mr. Benfield has been appointed vice president, CFO, Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Rockville, Md. Previously, he was vice president, CFO, Florida Hospital Waterman, Tavares, Fla.

Cora L. Downard, CMA (Nevada chapter).(PEOPLE)
February 1, 2007... Ms. Downard has been named director of finance, ambulatory services, Renown Health, Rano, Nev. She had been director of finance, MEDSchool Associates North, Reno.

Suzanne Hyde (New Jersey chapter).(appointment of Suzanne Hyde)(AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Ms. Hyde has joined AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Pomona, N.J., as manager, managed care contracting. Formerly, she was director of managed care, Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation, Pomona, N.J.

Gerald H. Klein, FHFMA (Southern Illinois chapter).(PEOPLE)
February 1, 2007... Mr. Klein has been named CFO, Lawrence County Memorial Hospital, Lawrenceville, Ill. He had been vice president, finance, Bucyrus Community Hospital, Bucyrus, Ohio.

Ramona Thompson (Washington/Alaska chapter).(appointment of Ramona Thompson)(Great River Medical Center)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Ms. Thompson has been appointed regional business office director, Great River Medical Center, Kotzebue, Alaska. Previously, she was business office manager, Maniilaq Health Center, Kotzebue, Alaska.

Heather L. Weber (New Jersey chapter).(PEOPLE)
February 1, 2007... Ms. Weber has been appointed senior manager, Parente Randolph, LLC, Philadelphia. Formerly, she was director of finance, Kimball Medical Center, Lakewood, N.J.

Analysis reveals variation in financial and operational performance by hospital size.(DATA TRENDS)
February 1, 2007... Day-to-day issues that revolve around revenue cycle improvement and cost containment continue to be priorities for senior healthcare financial executives. Reviewing some standard indicators can help financial executives to address these...

No tax like a hidden tax: "We wanted to shine a bright light on the fact that there essentially is a hidden tax on employers and employees because the government is underpaying for services that are being rendered.".(FROM THE PRESIDENT)
February 1, 2007... This quote from David Joyner, senior vice president of Blue Shield of California, summarizes the intent behind a recent study by two insurers to quantify the impact of underpayments from Medicare and state Medicaid programs on commercial...

A hospital's tale: understanding challenges and strategies associated with data reporting is key to effectively communicate performance.(HFMA EDUCATIONAL REPORT)
February 1, 2007... Data reporting, at its core, is about telling a story. Individuals use data to understand what happens within the walls of your facility and what becomes of the patients who receive treatment there. Are patients getting the right kind of care...