Medicare

HIMSS: Nearly all Surveyed Provider Orgs Unready for Pay-for-Value Transition

By Rajiv Leventhal for HCI | Healthcare Informatics Just three percent of survey respondents believe their organization is highly prepared to make the pay-for-value transition, according to the 2016 HIMSS Cost Accounting Survey, unveiled at last week’s HIMSS conference in Las Vegas. Indeed, as more and more healthcare organizations begin adopting some form of a…

Read MoreHIMSS: Nearly all Surveyed Provider Orgs Unready for Pay-for-Value Transition

25 Quotes That Show Just How Fed Up Physicians Are With EHRs

By Max Green for Becker’s Health IT & CIO Review More than half of the physicians who bill Medicare in the U.S. are currently being penalized 1 percent of their 2015 payments as a result of the meaningful use program, according to Steven J. Stack, MD, president of the American Medical Association. “Imagine, in a world…

Read More25 Quotes That Show Just How Fed Up Physicians Are With EHRs

From Meaningful Use to Meaningful Outcomes

By Marc Probst, CIO and Vice President, Intermountain Healthcare for (HCI) Healthcare Informatics The federal government recently announced that its mandate for health information technology will move in a different direction. The change represents a vital opportunity that could lead to dramatic improvements in health care delivery. Andy Slavitt, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Centers…

Read MoreFrom Meaningful Use to Meaningful Outcomes

2016 Election Candidates’ Stances on Health Care

By Matt O’Connor for (H&HN) Hospitals & Health Networks Here are the 8 presidential election candidates’ stances on health care, taken directly from their websites. Jeb Bush: Website ObamaCare is a government takeover of more than one-sixth of the American economy, and it epitomizes why Americans are so fed up with Washington. To win on repeal, conservatives…

Read More2016 Election Candidates’ Stances on Health Care

Did Healthcare Policy Issues Play a Role in the Iowa Presidential Caucus Results?

By Harris Meyer for Modern Healthcare After attacking Donald Trump over the weekend for his previous favorable remarks about single-payer healthcare, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz squeaked out a victory over the billionaire New York developer in the Iowa presidential caucuses Monday night, with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio trailing close behind. Meanwhile, the Iowa Democratic Party declared…

Read MoreDid Healthcare Policy Issues Play a Role in the Iowa Presidential Caucus Results?

The Best of the Best: HCI’s Top 10 Health IT Stories of 2015

By the Editors of HCI for Healthcare Informatics Not surprisingly, it was another big year in the world of health IT, mixed with positive developments and unsettling trends. Last week, HCI Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland looked at the seven significant things we learned this year, and social media manager Megan Combs parsed through the analytics and found…

Read MoreThe Best of the Best: HCI’s Top 10 Health IT Stories of 2015

OIG Says No Fines for Hospital’s Transcription Service

By Eric Topor from Health Care Daily Report for BNA Dec. 29 — The Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General posted an advisory opinion Dec. 29 (No. 15–15) that said it wouldn’t impose sanctions on a hospital’s proposal to provide market rate transcription services for radiology tests performed at the hospital for patients of an unaffiliated…

Read MoreOIG Says No Fines for Hospital’s Transcription Service

The Essentials of Medical Necessity

By Laurie Desjardins, CPC-I for For The Record Vol. 27 No. 11 P. 6 The Social Security Act defines medical necessity as follows: “Notwithstanding any other provisions of this title, no payment may be made under Part A or Part B for any expenses incurred for items or services, which are not reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis…

Read MoreThe Essentials of Medical Necessity

ICD-10 Moves Healthcare One Step Closer to Improved Documentation

Article by Karen Diop, RN, CDIP. This article was originally published on the Journal of AHIMA website in the “Coding Notes” section in November 2015 and is republished here with permission. Change has become a constant in healthcare. With the introduction of electronic health record (EHR) systems, core measures, the “meaningful use” EHR Incentive Program, value-based purchasing, and the…

Read MoreICD-10 Moves Healthcare One Step Closer to Improved Documentation

Queries: It’s All in the Timing

By Susan Chapman for For The Record Whether delivered face to face or remotely, requests are more apt to receive a response if they’re delivered within a physician’s workflow. There are different ways in which physicians are queried to ensure patient health records are complete. Most facilities employ onsite clinical documentation improvement (CDI) teams that are…

Read MoreQueries: It’s All in the Timing