Billing and Collections

Healthcare providers are realizing they must create and sustain a more effective revenue cycle to ensure long-term viability. To remain competitive, providers must closely evaluate the current state of their revenue cycle and implement improvement opportunities.

Many Medicare beneficiaries treated at primarily rural "critical access" hospitals end up paying between two and six times more for outpatient services than do patients at other hospitals, according to a report released Wednesday by the HHS inspector general.

With one year left, it's time to chart your map to the new code set. And given that so many payers and providers are lagging behind recommended timelines, these tactics will help you get organized.

A program that combines a mobile app, analytics and direct intervention is showing promise in reducing the costs associated with hospitals' most expensive patients -- the so-called "super-utilizers."

Working together, CFOs and CIOs can breathe new life into their growth strategy by thinking beyond architectural and functional limits of their EHRs. They must embrace new ideas and technologies that will introduce market advantages and the financial elixir of much-needed share gains.

A Mississippi health system and three hospitals in Texas, Indiana and Alabama are illustrating how hospitals can thrive in a tough economic environment. The facilities recently won awards for their leadership in initiatives to improve financial sustainability and achieve significant financial performance improvements.

Using automation technology to create an engaging payment experience for patients enables providers to see measurable operational and financial improvements including fewer days in accounts receivable, improved cash collections and reduced past-due accounts.

Chief financial officers at hospitals and health systems must track a multitude of difficult financial issues these days. One question, however, always stops a conversation cold: Why are our reimbursements declining?

Although there are some indications of a possible lull, hospital systems are still buying up private physician practices at a high rate. With that come concerns about maintaining the revenue cycle during transition, but there are steps hospitals can take to smooth the process.

Even though it has not been determined what impact the health insurance exchanges will have on hospital finances, there are steps hospitals can take to increase the likelihood of positive effects on their revenue cycles.