Healthcare

Showing 369–384 of 450 results

  • Practice Notes – Reduce the risk of employee theft

    Winter 2010
    Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 494

    Abstract: In 2008, the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA) estimated conservatively that 3% of all health care spending, or $68 billion, is lost to health care fraud. Physician practices can experience their own types of fraud — through employee theft. This article offers a few tips to minimize the risk.

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  • Hospital-owned group practices  – Breaking the ties that bind

    Winter 2010
    Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 809

    Abstract: Today, when many hospitals are in the buying mode, some practices are ready to join up but are wondering, “What if I want out in a few years?” Breaking up isn’t easy. Physicians must be prepared to deal with federal regulations, employee benefits, patient accounting and other day-to-day details, or else perhaps join another physician network instead of buying back the practice. Those who do buy will need to hire an appraiser to establish the practice’s fair market value; determine what proportion of profits or losses can be attributed to the physicians in the practice; and develop an exit strategy that covers the potential consequences of unwinding in the future.

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  • ACOs can help assure quality and slow cost growth

    Winter 2010
    Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 709

    Abstract: An “accountable care organization” (ACO) is a combination of primary care and specialist physicians, hospitals and other care providers that accepts collective responsibility to meet patients’ health care needs. ACOs are considered the ideal vehicle for achieving the integration and cooperation demanded by “bundled payments.” But group practices will need strong leadership to carry out the many changes involved. Doctors will need to either acquire hard-core business skills and assume major management roles, or be willing to hire professional business managers to whom they can delegate significant business decisions.

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  • Is your practice’s compensation system fair?

    Winter 2010
    Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 874

    Abstract: Many physician groups are operating with compensation systems that were developed years ago for reasons that may no longer be relevant in the current environment. But, before embarking on changing one’s current system, it’s important to review all aspects of compensation. Does the system account for all costs incurred, or only a subset of expenses? In allocating revenues and expenses, does the system use RVUs, equal shares or professional service charges? This article looks at the components of a fair package, and discusses how to fairly compensate physicians whose professional duties, time commitments and outside activities vary. A sidebar discusses pending health care legislation, and the impact that reform will have on all health care providers.

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  • Standardized patient-feedback surveys extend their reach

    Winter 2010
    Newsletter: Vital Signs

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 649

    Abstract: A public-private initiative, called the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) program, has developed standardized surveys for patients to evaluate their health care experiences. Given current trends, it would not be surprising if payments for physicians eventually become linked to participation. But participation can also help identify a practice’s strengths and weaknesses involving its communication and service to patients.

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  • Paging Dr. Right — How HCOs can best target their physician hires

    Winter 2010
    Newsletter: Vital Signs

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 884

    Abstract: Before a health care organization (HCO) begins employing physicians and physician extenders, questions need to be answered. What does the HCO want from the physician? What does the physician want from the organization? This article looks at two scenarios: hiring to fill an HCO’s community need vs. hiring to suit an individual physician’s desire to join the HCO in question.

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  • Incentivizing the CMS quality health care reporting measures

    Winter 2010
    Newsletter: Vital Signs

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 515

    Abstract: There have been marked improvements to the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). The CMS Web site provides program guides on topics such as eligibility, measures and reporting mechanisms in understandable terms. Now is the time to start reviewing the information for the 2010 program year. There are four specific steps a practice can take to get started.

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  • Would your hospital-physician arrangement pass regulatory and public scrutiny?

    Winter 2010
    Newsletter: Vital Signs

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 712

    Abstract: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that it will periodically require hospitals to provide information about compensation arrangements with physicians. The rules for physician-hospital relationships are known. What’s not known is how an arrangement with physicians may look in the local newspaper. So it’s essential to develop a well-defined, transparent policy for physician arrangements. Once the policy is in place, it will be necessary to stay organized through the use of contract management tools that monitor physician financial relationships through hospital compliance officers and other administrators.

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  • So you want to grow a hospital-owned physician network … Recognizing the 3 stages of maturation

    Winter 2010
    Newsletter: Vital Signs

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 829

    Abstract: The resources necessary to acquire, manage and sustain one or two practices with less than 15 physicians are different from those required for groups of 25 to 50 physicians. The complexity increases significantly with larger groups. So it’s important to recognize the three stages that groups go through as they mature. Ultimately, these phases are less about the number of physicians, and more a reflection of the management skills and systems the group has developed.

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  • Practice builders – Don’t let marketing fall by the wayside

    Fall 2009
    Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 420

    Abstract: In the current economic climate, some private practice physicians may be tempted to cast their marketing efforts aside in order to save a dollar. It’s a bad idea. Rather than drop marketing, it’s important to become more creative at it. This involves gaining an understanding of the market in which one competes; choosing the best medium to appeal to that market; and synchronizing various marketing efforts with each other and with what is going on in the practice through annual, quarterly and monthly action plans.

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  • Medical practice management 101 – How to assess financial health

    Fall 2009
    Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 704

    Abstract: Most often, it’s assessing the financial health of their practice that eludes many physicians. Timely, accurate financial reports can be invaluable tools for assessing a practice’s financial health. Different reports used on a daily, weekly and monthly basis provide vital information for day-to-day management of a practice. Each kind of report offers different information that’s important to financial analysis. But good old-fashioned budgeting is also crucial.

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  • Developing a hospitalist service offering

    Fall 2009
    Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 568

    Abstract: The services that hospitalists perform have become so popular that the number of hospitalists is expected to reach 30,000 by the end of the decade. Entrepreneurial physician practices seeking to develop new revenue streams should consider developing a hospitalist services subsidiary. This separate entity would employ the hospitalists. But it’s important for a hospital to understand in advance how the subsidiary works and how to prepare a hospitalist for service, and ensure that both the hospital and hospitalists are in agreement on performance variables and how they will be measured.

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  • Electronic dashboards – The latest gadget for measuring practice performance

    Fall 2009
    Newsletter: Rx for Practice Management / Practice Management Advisor

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 818

    Abstract: There’s a new tool that many physicians are finding superior to traditional financial statements — the electronic dashboard. Why are dashboards important? They’re designed to make financial indicators more comprehensible to physicians. In fact, they can be effective tools for engaging all staff members in reducing overhead and increasing profits. This article describes how electronic dashboards work, how to get started employing one, and what features to include. A sidebar looks at the costs of implementing a dashboard, whether in-house or through a third party.

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  • Are you up to speed on sample medication management?

    Fall 2009
    Newsletter: Vital Signs

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 746

    Abstract: Physician practices that distribute sample medication need to have policies and procedures that guarantee medication safety to its patients and staff. Insurance carriers and auditing entities will review practice manuals and logs to determine whether an office is following appropriate medical management procedures. There are a number of specific policies a practice should implement to meet this challenge, and some pharmaceutical companies also offer programs that can help.

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  • The process of partnering with a health system

    Fall 2009
    Newsletter: Vital Signs

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 1018

    Abstract: Throughout the country, hospitals are looking at ways to partner with physicians in order to create comprehensive health systems that will serve the needs of their service community as well as the physicians with whom they partner. But, to meet the requirements that are necessary to perform a comprehensive review and meet all Stark requirements, health systems must perform due diligence in regard to productivity, compensation, profitability, overhead and staffing. The overwhelming nature of the requests for documentation may foster fear or resentment among some practices, but they should think of it as merely a way for the health system to be introduced to the practice and how it operates, not as an intimidating or judgmental process.

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  • Increasing revenue by managing denials in a rough economy

    Fall 2009
    Newsletter: Vital Signs

    Price: $225.00, Subscriber Price: $157.50

    Word count: 985

    Abstract: Hard economic times are causing medical practices to increasingly write off accounts because of bad debt. Thus, cash flow is more important than ever for providers. One of the biggest factors in improving cash flow is reducing the frequency and occurrence of denials and ensuring clean claims on the first submission. To effectively manage denials, physicians must identify the type of denial, educate staff, know how to edit claims and prepare appeals, and monitor progress.

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