Monday, June 27, 2011

Hospitals need to simplify chargemaster management

Posted by Mark Brousseau

As hospitals seek to survive and thrive in the new world of bundled payments, ACO and medical home programs, many are actively seeking to employ more physicians and acquire community practices. In fact, a recent survey by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) shows a nearly 75 percent increase in the number of active doctors employed by hospitals since 2000.

This shift has intensified the perennial challenge of making employed providers revenue positive for the organization. A recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine estimated that hospitals lose between $150,000 and $250,000 per year over the first three years of employing a physician (Kochner and Sahni; "Hospitals' Race to Employ Physicians" – March 30, 2011).

Against this backdrop, hospitals must establish a corporate chargemaster file to standardize aspects of physician charging for greater operational efficiency, optimal reimbursement and reduced compliance risks, says Keith Neilson, CEO of Craneware, which is exhibiting at HFMA's ANI Conference this week in Orlando.

To this end, Craneware is launching its Physician Revenue Toolkit to help hospitals manage multiple physician operations.

What do you think?

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