Payers

A Calif.-based non-profit community clinic sets out to prevent repetitive-motion injuries and ends up dramatically reducing costs and increasing revenue.

Today’s computerized practice management (PM) and claims coding systems revolutionized healthcare. Though much of the claims process is electronic, the coding and input of patient data is still a highly manual process. For those occupying such positions, repetitive-motion injuries can be the result. When a Calif.-based community health clinic purchased an automated charge capture and coding solution to help protect staffers from repetitive-motion injuries, it was stunned by a substantial and unforeseen benefit.

Supply chain optimization brings benefits to all stakeholders.

Necessity is the mother of innovation. But at Premier Inc., the nation’s largest alliance owned by more than 200 leading hospitals and healthcare systems, it is also a powerful driver of cost savings and member benefits for its 1,500-plus membership base. Today, Premier’s members enjoy the benefits of a supply chain optimization effort that relies on only one business intelligence (BI) team to manage the components of an otherwise large and previously unwieldy supply chain program.

As electronic healthcare databases grow, traditional backup systems may become inadequate. Is information lifecycle management the future of data storage?

There is a story of a family that wasn’t satisfied with having all their food in the kitchen. First, their 16-year-old son demanded a refrigerator in his room for his sport drinks, snacks and fruit. Then, their 13-year-old daughter wanted a refrigerator for milk and sandwiches. Of course, the parents then decided to keep wine, cheese and fruit in a refrigerator in their bedroom, and who would be without a refrigerator in the garage for beer and soft drinks?

Technology is transforming hospital call centers into profit centers that improve customer relations and drive the bottom line.

Over the past decade, hospitals around the country have elevated the level of sophistication of their marketing call center operations. One-person offices of yesterday that relied on telephones and Rolodex cards for physician referrals have turned into high-level data centers, capable of handling a myriad of caller needs and requests. More and more forward-thinking hospital leaders have recognized the vast potential of such operations, and of the vitally important role a well-designed and intelligently directed call center can play in their institutions.

For health management organizations, the business environment, programs and customer needs are constantly changing and the contact center must respond accordingly. While most contact centers have risen to the challenge of supporting volume of calls or containing costs, few have yet taken a strategic approach to measuring performance. Instead, most rely on metrics better suited to speed and efficiency than customer satisfaction and retention, revenue or other business goals.

Healthcare organizations in growth mode need financial information systems that can accommodate expansion.

Healthcare organizations are no different than most large corporations. Running them efficiently means putting in place a financial information system (FIS) that operates effectively on all levels, from individual departments to the corporate office. When an organization grows, especially through acquisitions, coordinating these systems across the enterprise is crucial.

A Tennessee-based medical group identifies potential underpayments, negotiates better payer contracts and strengthens their bottom line.

According to industry estimates, as much as 20 percent of a medical group's claims volume is paid incorrectly. When it comes to tracking payment errors and recovering lost revenue, these groups must deal with the growing complexity of today's payer contracts–from Medicare payment rules and bundling edits to modifiers and place-of-service edits. Effectively managing these details–and the contracts that define them–helps medical groups to decrease underpayments, leading to increased revenue and improved cash flow.

Only two weeks to go before the healthcare IT trade show of shows commences in San Diego.

Looking to establish new relationships or shore up old ones? Find the latest and greatest in available healthcare IT? Strut your latest new product or regale decision makers with the merits of your latest service? Dust off your comfortable walking shoes because it's time to see and be seen at HIMSS–the über healthcare IT trade show and convention. Some 800 exhibitors will vie for attention and more than 23,000 attendees will trudge the lengths of six football fields at the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Conference and Exhibition, February 12-16, in San Diego. This month, Health Management Technology continues to provide a sampling of the fare being showcased at HIMSS. Visit with HMT at Booth 4353.