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The Coding Enabler

By Julie Knudson for For The Record If used correctly, computer-assisted coding can help hospitals alleviate inefficiencies. As computer-assisted coding (CAC) is deployed by an increasing number of hospitals, its effect on coders is coming into focus. The evolution of workflow changes, productivity increases ahead of ICD-10, and fear of diminishing job prospects are all…

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Most Medicare demonstration projects haven’t saved money

By Chris Anderson, Senior Editor, Healthcare Finance News Most of the Medicare fee-for-service demonstration projects launched in the past two decades using disease management and value-based payments have failed to reduce costs, says a report issued yesterday by the Congressional Budget Office. “In nearly every program involving disease management and care coordination, spending was either…

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Health-Care Sector Adds Jobs as Overall Employment Picture Looks Healthier

By Katherine Hobson originally published on WSJ Health Blog The jobs picture last month improved overall — and the health-care sector, which has been a bright spot throughout the downturn, continued to grow. As the WSJ reports, nonfarm payrolls rose by 200,000 people in December as the unemployment rate, calculated using a separate survey, fell…

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OIG Most Wanted Fugitives

Gerald T. Roy, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at the Office of Inspector General lists the agency’s most wanted fugitives responsible for the theft of over $400 million. Click here to read more information about OIG’s most wanted health care fugitives. In all, they are seeking more than 170 fugitives on charges related to health…

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Top 11 Trends for 2012 in Healthcare Data, According to Industry Experts

A Look Ahead Points to Increased Risks; Regulatory Expectations; Reputational Fallout PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Hospitals and healthcare organizations will need more than a couple of aspirin to ready themselves for 2012. Industry experts representing healthcare law, privacy, security, regulatory and data breach were asked to forecast healthcare data trends…

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Protected Patient Data Increasingly Being Lost, Stolen

By Cole Petrochko, Associate Staff Writer, MedPage Today Nearly all healthcare organizations responding to a survey — 96% — reported that patient or related information has been lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised within the last two years. The number of data breaches involving protected health information rose by 32% from 2010, according to interview data…

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5 ‘Gotchas’ of ICD-10 Implementation

Rene Letourneau, Managing Editor, Healthcare Finance News SOUTH PORTLAND, ME – A panel of ICD-10 experts spoke Friday at a conference co-hosted by the New England Health Information and Management Systems Society and Maine Healthcare Financial Management Association in South Portland, Maine, giving advice about the five ‘gotchas’ that can wreak havoc on the best-laid…

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Half of community hospitals operating at 2% margins or less

Written for FierceHealthFinance Almost half (49 percent) of community hospitals in the United States are operating at margins of 2 percent or less, according to a recent report from healthcare IT provider Anthelio Healthcare Solutions, presented at last month’s annual Community Hospital 100 conference in Pinehurst Resort, N.C. More than one-fifth of the hospitals (22…

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