Medical Billing Blog with Medical Billing & Coding Info & Articles
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Welcome to the medical billing blog containing news and articles relating to medical billing, medical coding, ICD, HIPAA and practice management functions.
2004-2024 Celebrating 20 Years of Healthcare RCM Articles
The Blog Currently Contains 1,265+ Healthcare Articles
Collaboration Can Aid EHR Use and Adoption in Behavioral Health
Perceived ease of EHR use and perceived usefulness of the technology itself are driving factors toward EHR adoption with physicians in behavioral health, according to a recent study. However, there is still resistance to EHR adoption within behavioral health, which could be eased through greater collaboration. Working collaboratively to mitigate concerns about workflow burden can help improve attitudes toward EHR use, explained a study published in AHIMA’s Perspectives in Health Information Management. Additionally, collaboration can “demonstrate the value of EHRs to improve professional practice, efficiency, safety, effectiveness, and patient outcomes.” “Despite the advances in and wide availability of health information technology, many behavioral healthcare clinicians have not adopted EHRs,” wrote …
RCM tip: Consider Revenue Cycle Outsourcing
Outsourcing the revenue cycle management process can prove beneficial for healthcare organizations, according to Joel Gleason, senior vice president and global market head of the provider segment at Cognizant. Mr. Gleason shared the following tip with Becker’s Hospital Review. “For hospitals and standalone healthcare providers, it’s all about delivering top-quality care, not necessarily managing the revenue cycle. Collecting payment is crucial to success. But chances are it’s not a core competency. “In fact, 57 percent of businesses outsource because it allows them to concentrate on what they’re good at, according to Deloitte. Focusing on the core business is the second most popular reason to outsource, just two percentage points behind …
RCM tip: Reduce costs through patient blood management
Hospitals and health systems should focus on patient blood management to improve quality and reduce costs, according to Joseph Thomas, BSN, RN, national director, clinical optimization for Accumen. Mr. Thomas shared the following tip with Becker’s Hospital Review. “Comprehensive patient blood management programs are an essential part of enterprise-wide strategic initiatives and are proven to reduce the utilization of blood by up to 60 percent with improved clinical outcomes. This is consistent with a strategic vision of enhancing innovation in patient care at a lower cost as healthcare initiatives drive value-based care and population health management. “A critical component of accelerated success and sustainability is establishing a strong clinical infrastructure …
Choosing an EHR for its Usability
“The usability of the system is probably the most important factor in making an informed choice of which EHR to use for your practice. Most every bit of software says that it is easy to use, but how can you choose an EHR that is actually usable? We recommend choosing an EHR that is ONC certified. The MU2 certification program required that EHR vendors have a user-centered design approach, and submit a summative usability evaluation as part of their §170.314(g)(3) Safety-enhanced design certification submission. These usability documents are made available to the public on the CHPL site. Look at the published usability document for the EHR that you are considering. …
Increasing EHR use of problem lists among clinicians can save money
Healthcare organizations, policymakers, and health IT developers can take steps to increase clinician EHR use of problem lists for improved health outcomes and clinical efficiency, according to researchers from the University of Utah Department of Biomedical Informatics and Intermountain Healthcare. Hodge et al. conducted a systematic literary review of 848 full-text articles and included 110 articles in a thematic analysis to gain broad insights into the characteristics that define a useful EHR problem list, as well as the myriad factors that contribute to its success as a resource. Ultimately, researchers determined there is a need to improve problem lists in ways that encourage increased utilization by clinicians. “There is also …
