By Mark Brousseau
Every organization, regardless of industry, needs to have a records management policy, and they must have a records manager. Nonetheless, it can be an uphill climb convincing top managers to embrace records management, Kevin Joerling, senior project manager, records management, Perceptive Software, said yesterday at the company’s Inspire 2011 user conference at the Wynn in Las Vegas.
Records and information management is defined as the systematic control of records and information throughout their lifecycle, encompassing creation, use, storage, retention, and disposition. “Retention is where we find many companies are not doing a very good job – knowing how long to keep documents,” Joerling said
And this is an area where companies can waste a lot of money, Joerling said: For every $1 spent on disk storage, $3 to $8 per megabyte is spent on managing that storage, he explained. “In some cases, companies don’t even realize this,” he said.
Joerling said records and information is more important than ever because it: reduces storage costs; organizations information for quick retrieval; facilitates litigation risk avoidance; helps protect information assets; and ensures compliance with recordkeeping laws and regulations. To this last point, Joerling said records management is a key part of an organization’s commitment to risk mitigation.
“Liability lawsuits are often decided on the basis of old records,” Joerling explained. What’s more, the loss of records can have more devastating consequences than the loss of a plant, Joerling said, noting that some companies based in the World Trade Center during 9/11 went out of business because they didn’t have backup records.
So why don’t more top execs embrace records management?
For starters, most top execs don’t understand records management. “Records management is not mainstream yet,” he said. “It’s not taught in too many colleges or universities, so business managers coming out of school don’t understand it.” Many organizations also don’t have a records management professional. “Who’s going to be that champion in your company to go to senior management and say ‘We need to look into this because we could get in trouble by not doing it?’” Joerling asked.
Additionally, records and information management benefits can be difficult to quantify. With tight budgets as a result of the recession, this makes it more difficult to persuade senior management about records and information management.
Joerling offered tips for selling top execs on the need for records management:
1. Describe how records management will solve issues facing your organization.
2. Propose a recommended solution, whether it’s hiring a records manager or records management consultant.
3. Detail what will happen if a records management program is not undertaken.
4. Explain when the records management program will be deployed, and how much money, how much time and how many people will be needed for the program.
5. Keep the discussions at a high level and targeted to c-level core concerns, such as how the program ties into the company’s strategic plan.
“It’s an uphill battle because you’re dealing with something that a lot of executives don’t understand and don’t recognize why it needs to be done,” Joerling admitted. But with the growing importance of records and information management, it’s critical that document professionals convince top execs on the need for a program.
What do you think?
Showing posts with label medical payments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medical payments. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Efficiency and Transparency Key Issues in Healthcare Payments Automation
By Lee Barrett of EHNAC
There are major industry shifts already underway that will change how the payment and document industry transacts business. With the complexity of changes taking place in relation to how ARRA, HITECH and HIPAA affect our industries, every payment processor and document manager would be wise to keep a finger on the pulse of the hot topics of the day and trends that provide indication of future directions for the industry.
One important change is the fact that providers and banks will be able to provide reconciled data streams so that any needed claim adjustments can be minimized and there can be a marrying of the remittance and electronic funds transfer. The benefit of this reconciliation is that manual intervention becomes minimal for inputting data into accounts payable applications, and there are few additional contractual adjustments required as compared to the large number needed today. This is, of course, all to the benefit of the provider organization and ultimately the patient or payer.
The second recent trend is, in fact, the revitalization of an old trend. With the ever-increasing cost of health insurance, organizations are seeking more economical solutions to meet the needs of their employees. As a result of this, the industry is seeing healthcare savings plans regaining traction at a significant rate. Health savings accounts or HSAs are most frequently used in conjunction with a benefit debit card, and give employees the benefit of being able to put pre-tax dollars toward deductible payment or coverage of other health related services. Given the complexities of HITECH, HIPAA and COBRA, organizations and financial institutions offering HSAs are required to keep track of changing regulations regarding excise taxes and concerns related to health and financial data security, privacy and confidentiality.
A third recent trend the industry is witnessing arises from the consumer demand for transparency in their healthcare experience, and the desire to have all healthcare payment and records available through a single portal. These “Wealth Care portals” provide for connections and efficient processing of all healthcare needs for a patient, allowing a patient to determine what they owe different providers, by tracking their invoices and payments through a single site. These portals would also give patients the ability to make better-informed decisions, make use of calculators and tools to determine costs and savings and track the status of claims made to their health insurance.
The electronic healthcare and payment-document processing worlds are changing rapidly, with exciting developments coming to light almost daily. To ensure that these trends truly benefit our own customers, it makes sense to stay abreast of the changes, and constantly analyze what the changes mean to our organizations as well as to our stakeholders.
Lee Barrett is executive director of the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC).
There are major industry shifts already underway that will change how the payment and document industry transacts business. With the complexity of changes taking place in relation to how ARRA, HITECH and HIPAA affect our industries, every payment processor and document manager would be wise to keep a finger on the pulse of the hot topics of the day and trends that provide indication of future directions for the industry.
One important change is the fact that providers and banks will be able to provide reconciled data streams so that any needed claim adjustments can be minimized and there can be a marrying of the remittance and electronic funds transfer. The benefit of this reconciliation is that manual intervention becomes minimal for inputting data into accounts payable applications, and there are few additional contractual adjustments required as compared to the large number needed today. This is, of course, all to the benefit of the provider organization and ultimately the patient or payer.
The second recent trend is, in fact, the revitalization of an old trend. With the ever-increasing cost of health insurance, organizations are seeking more economical solutions to meet the needs of their employees. As a result of this, the industry is seeing healthcare savings plans regaining traction at a significant rate. Health savings accounts or HSAs are most frequently used in conjunction with a benefit debit card, and give employees the benefit of being able to put pre-tax dollars toward deductible payment or coverage of other health related services. Given the complexities of HITECH, HIPAA and COBRA, organizations and financial institutions offering HSAs are required to keep track of changing regulations regarding excise taxes and concerns related to health and financial data security, privacy and confidentiality.
A third recent trend the industry is witnessing arises from the consumer demand for transparency in their healthcare experience, and the desire to have all healthcare payment and records available through a single portal. These “Wealth Care portals” provide for connections and efficient processing of all healthcare needs for a patient, allowing a patient to determine what they owe different providers, by tracking their invoices and payments through a single site. These portals would also give patients the ability to make better-informed decisions, make use of calculators and tools to determine costs and savings and track the status of claims made to their health insurance.
The electronic healthcare and payment-document processing worlds are changing rapidly, with exciting developments coming to light almost daily. To ensure that these trends truly benefit our own customers, it makes sense to stay abreast of the changes, and constantly analyze what the changes mean to our organizations as well as to our stakeholders.
Lee Barrett is executive director of the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC).
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Critical Actions for HIE
By Mark Brousseau
There are five critical actions that healthcare organizations need to take to ensure the success of their information sharing initiatives, Jamie Welch, CIO, Louisiana Rural Health Information Exchange (LARHX) told attendees this morning at HIMSS10 at the Georgia World Congress, in Atlanta.
LARHX’s information sharing initiative includes telemedicine, distance learning, physician learning, physician rotation, patient information sharing, electronic medical records, and mobile mammograms.
These are the five critical actions Welch outlined:
Work at the grassroots level to articulate your business case.
“If you start to boil the ocean before you boil the pond, it’s not going to work,” Welch said. “We know the lingo and we know the vendors – it’s what we do. For the general public, it’s not. The majority of what they hear about health IT is about a Congress that can’t decide if it’s good or bad, and about information breaches.”
“From Day 1, we made sure that everyone understood what the benefits of our project would be over time. We had to convince people that if you let us do this, then these would be the benefits you will see,” Welch said. “Once we got people to see this, then a lot of our challenges solved themselves.”
Link your objectives to measurable outcomes
“You need to present something that is tangible. Everybody likes the cold, hard data, not theoretical information,” Welch said. “We keep track of everything: money saved, days saved, travel time saved, waiting room time saved, duplicate tests saved – you name it.”
Define the governance strategy that works best for your participants
“One model isn’t going to work for everybody,” Welch said.
Mix and match best practices
“We all know what the best practices are. But we can’t all pattern ourselves after each other, because each part of the country is different, and each patient population is different,” Welch said. “Take the best of all worlds and make it work for you.”
Remember that this is not an IT project – it’s a patient project
“Keep patients and physicians involved, and remember it is all about the patient and the physician and better health outcomes,” Welch said. “The health IT element is frosting.”
What do you think?
There are five critical actions that healthcare organizations need to take to ensure the success of their information sharing initiatives, Jamie Welch, CIO, Louisiana Rural Health Information Exchange (LARHX) told attendees this morning at HIMSS10 at the Georgia World Congress, in Atlanta.
LARHX’s information sharing initiative includes telemedicine, distance learning, physician learning, physician rotation, patient information sharing, electronic medical records, and mobile mammograms.
These are the five critical actions Welch outlined:
Work at the grassroots level to articulate your business case.
“If you start to boil the ocean before you boil the pond, it’s not going to work,” Welch said. “We know the lingo and we know the vendors – it’s what we do. For the general public, it’s not. The majority of what they hear about health IT is about a Congress that can’t decide if it’s good or bad, and about information breaches.”
“From Day 1, we made sure that everyone understood what the benefits of our project would be over time. We had to convince people that if you let us do this, then these would be the benefits you will see,” Welch said. “Once we got people to see this, then a lot of our challenges solved themselves.”
Link your objectives to measurable outcomes
“You need to present something that is tangible. Everybody likes the cold, hard data, not theoretical information,” Welch said. “We keep track of everything: money saved, days saved, travel time saved, waiting room time saved, duplicate tests saved – you name it.”
Define the governance strategy that works best for your participants
“One model isn’t going to work for everybody,” Welch said.
Mix and match best practices
“We all know what the best practices are. But we can’t all pattern ourselves after each other, because each part of the country is different, and each patient population is different,” Welch said. “Take the best of all worlds and make it work for you.”
Remember that this is not an IT project – it’s a patient project
“Keep patients and physicians involved, and remember it is all about the patient and the physician and better health outcomes,” Welch said. “The health IT element is frosting.”
What do you think?
Using Bank Rails for Healthcare Payments
By Mark Brousseau
Banks can leverage their core competencies and existing infrastructure to more easily connect healthcare consumers, providers, and payers, Ralph Bernstein, senior vice president, healthcare strategy, US Bank, told attendees Monday at the Medical Banking Project Institute at HIMSS10 in Atlanta.
“There has to be a willingness to ride down the same set of tracks, and to create a cost model that works,” Bernstein told attendees. “But I absolutely think that we can do it. We already have the ability to take transactions out of your account in real-time; that’s the easy part. The hard part is when to move the money, and how much to take out. We need healthcare customers to tell us that.”
“As much money moves through the healthcare system, many more times that moves through the banking system around the world,” Bernstein noted.
“Banks need to participate,” said Ernie Clevenger, CEO, CareHere! “The banks can contribute to the process because ACH and EFTs are very simple transactions, and that concept needs to be forced.”
What do you think?
Banks can leverage their core competencies and existing infrastructure to more easily connect healthcare consumers, providers, and payers, Ralph Bernstein, senior vice president, healthcare strategy, US Bank, told attendees Monday at the Medical Banking Project Institute at HIMSS10 in Atlanta.
“There has to be a willingness to ride down the same set of tracks, and to create a cost model that works,” Bernstein told attendees. “But I absolutely think that we can do it. We already have the ability to take transactions out of your account in real-time; that’s the easy part. The hard part is when to move the money, and how much to take out. We need healthcare customers to tell us that.”
“As much money moves through the healthcare system, many more times that moves through the banking system around the world,” Bernstein noted.
“Banks need to participate,” said Ernie Clevenger, CEO, CareHere! “The banks can contribute to the process because ACH and EFTs are very simple transactions, and that concept needs to be forced.”
What do you think?
Streamlining Healthcare Payments
By Mark Brousseau
There’s no question that the healthcare payments system is inefficient – with the cost of those inefficiencies pegged at $35 billion a year – but any plans to reengineer the system cannot add new complexities, speakers at the Medical Banking Project Institute said at HIMSS10 on Monday in Atlanta.
“We’re locked in a paper morass. As quickly as possible, we need to liberate data so people can use it at the point of care,” John Casillas, executive director, Medical Banking Project, told attendees.
But Zahoor Elahi, vice president and general manager, Health and Financial Network, FIS Government, Education and Healthcare Solutions had a warning for industry stakeholders.“We’re all aware of the economy we’re in, and the spotlight on healthcare costs. As we move to creating the healthcare financial network of the future, it is important that all of the stakeholders are focused on brining value to it and taking costs out. They can’t be adding more variables and burden,” he said.
What do you think?
There’s no question that the healthcare payments system is inefficient – with the cost of those inefficiencies pegged at $35 billion a year – but any plans to reengineer the system cannot add new complexities, speakers at the Medical Banking Project Institute said at HIMSS10 on Monday in Atlanta.
“We’re locked in a paper morass. As quickly as possible, we need to liberate data so people can use it at the point of care,” John Casillas, executive director, Medical Banking Project, told attendees.
But Zahoor Elahi, vice president and general manager, Health and Financial Network, FIS Government, Education and Healthcare Solutions had a warning for industry stakeholders.“We’re all aware of the economy we’re in, and the spotlight on healthcare costs. As we move to creating the healthcare financial network of the future, it is important that all of the stakeholders are focused on brining value to it and taking costs out. They can’t be adding more variables and burden,” he said.
What do you think?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
The ICD-10 Challenge
By Mark Brousseau
“ICD-10 is probably one of the biggest changes to occur in health IT in 30 years,” Dr. Joe Nichols, Edifecs medical director, told attendees at the Medical Banking Project Boot Camp this afternoon at HIMSS10 in Atlanta. “It is massive.”
ICD codes, which were developed for coding institutionally related procedures, are maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO). Most developed countries other than the United States use ICD-10, Nichols noted. The United States still uses ICD-9 codes. The international version of ICD-10 contains approximately 12,400 diagnostic codes. WHO approved the U.S. version of ICD-10, which contains approximately 69,000 codes.
As of October 1, 2013, all claims in the United States must use ICD-10.
Why is this so important? Because ICD-10 is a cornerstone of healthcare information, Nichols said. “It is the standard for defining the health state of the patient, and the institutional procedures that patients may receive to maintain or improve their health state,” he explained. “This is a big change in the coding system.” What was 14,300 codes under ICD-9 will rise to 69,000 codes under ICD-10, Nichols noted, with the number of procedure codes increasing from 3,800 to 72,000 under ICD-10.
With ICD codes pervasive throughout most health systems, and many business functions impacted by the codes, it is important that healthcare organizations have plan for supporting ICD-10 codes.
“ICD-10 codes are used for a lot of things,” Nichols said. As examples, he mentioned: actuarial and financial risk; adjudication; outcomes; population health analysis; benefits design; fraud, waste and abuse analysis; quality and efficiency assessment; medical policies and clinical guidelines; payment rules; clinical history; utilization; and regulatory reporting. “We based a lot of our national policies on this,” Nichols said. “The implications are far-reaching. Imperfect mapping from ICD-9 to ICD-10 will affect processing and analytics in a way that impacts revenue, costs, risk and relationships.”
So how do you deal with this?
“If you haven’t started now, you’re going to be behind the gun,” Nichols said. But organizations need to look at their short-term goals with a long-term vision, to determine what solutions they need today, and whether those solutions will meet future needs. Organizations also need to be aware of ICD-10’s touch points with other initiatives, and the potential downstream impacts of the change. And they should collaborate with business and trading partners as they develop their ICD-10 plans. Finally, organizations should use ICD-10 to try to position themselves for competitive advantage. “There are huge competitive advantages to using ICD-10 better than your competitors,” Nichols explained.
“ICD-10 is probably one of the biggest changes to occur in health IT in 30 years,” Dr. Joe Nichols, Edifecs medical director, told attendees at the Medical Banking Project Boot Camp this afternoon at HIMSS10 in Atlanta. “It is massive.”
ICD codes, which were developed for coding institutionally related procedures, are maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO). Most developed countries other than the United States use ICD-10, Nichols noted. The United States still uses ICD-9 codes. The international version of ICD-10 contains approximately 12,400 diagnostic codes. WHO approved the U.S. version of ICD-10, which contains approximately 69,000 codes.
As of October 1, 2013, all claims in the United States must use ICD-10.
Why is this so important? Because ICD-10 is a cornerstone of healthcare information, Nichols said. “It is the standard for defining the health state of the patient, and the institutional procedures that patients may receive to maintain or improve their health state,” he explained. “This is a big change in the coding system.” What was 14,300 codes under ICD-9 will rise to 69,000 codes under ICD-10, Nichols noted, with the number of procedure codes increasing from 3,800 to 72,000 under ICD-10.
With ICD codes pervasive throughout most health systems, and many business functions impacted by the codes, it is important that healthcare organizations have plan for supporting ICD-10 codes.
“ICD-10 codes are used for a lot of things,” Nichols said. As examples, he mentioned: actuarial and financial risk; adjudication; outcomes; population health analysis; benefits design; fraud, waste and abuse analysis; quality and efficiency assessment; medical policies and clinical guidelines; payment rules; clinical history; utilization; and regulatory reporting. “We based a lot of our national policies on this,” Nichols said. “The implications are far-reaching. Imperfect mapping from ICD-9 to ICD-10 will affect processing and analytics in a way that impacts revenue, costs, risk and relationships.”
So how do you deal with this?
“If you haven’t started now, you’re going to be behind the gun,” Nichols said. But organizations need to look at their short-term goals with a long-term vision, to determine what solutions they need today, and whether those solutions will meet future needs. Organizations also need to be aware of ICD-10’s touch points with other initiatives, and the potential downstream impacts of the change. And they should collaborate with business and trading partners as they develop their ICD-10 plans. Finally, organizations should use ICD-10 to try to position themselves for competitive advantage. “There are huge competitive advantages to using ICD-10 better than your competitors,” Nichols explained.
Unifying Information Channels
By Mark Brousseau
Healthcare organizations should look at new ANSI 5010 standard as an opportunity to modernize their entire information processing infrastructure, Edifecs CEO Sunny Singh told attendees this afternoon at the Medical Banking Project Boot Camp at HIMSS10 in Atlanta.
By January 1, 2012, all covered entities must be able to send and receive all HIPAA transactions in the 5010 format. With more than 1,300 changes in 5010, compared to 4010A1, organizations must understand the new information contained in 5010 and how best to use this data. Combined with all of the other corporate strategies that healthcare organizations face, 5010 is a complex challenge – and its deadline is fast approaching. “Deadlines make everybody nervous,” Singh said, adding that organizations that haven’t started implementing a 5010 solution need to do it now.
But the new 5010 standard provides healthcare organizations with the chance to finally unify their information channels, to ensure that they process all of their information – incoming and outgoing – in a consistent way. This will help organizations achieve operational efficiencies and remain competitive, while easing their path to compliance with inevitable future regulations, Singh said.
“Healthcare organizations are getting information from various channels,” Singh explained. “When you make sure that every channel is unified, initiatives like 5010 become much easier to implement.”
Faced with meeting the new 5010 standard, healthcare organizations face three options, Singh said: complete replacement of all systems (“rip and replace”); remediation of core processing systems; and step-up/step-down. Singh noted that the complete replacement of core systems is a very expensive proposition for which there doesn’t seem to be a lot of takers. Remediation takes less time, Singh said, but organizations must have a sizeable team working on the project, and, depending on the existing systems involved, may still require considerable time, money and resource investments.
The option that is gaining the most traction, he said, is the step-up/step-down approach. In this scenario, organizations would convert 5010 information to 4010 and pass it throughout their systems; they also can convert the 4010 information to 5010 format and pass that throughout their systems.
“This is the most pragmatic option if 5010 planning and implementation has not yet commenced,” Singh said. “It has the least impact on core processing systems and other ongoing projects.”
But most importantly, it helps to unify a healthcare organization’s information channels.
Healthcare organizations should look at new ANSI 5010 standard as an opportunity to modernize their entire information processing infrastructure, Edifecs CEO Sunny Singh told attendees this afternoon at the Medical Banking Project Boot Camp at HIMSS10 in Atlanta.
By January 1, 2012, all covered entities must be able to send and receive all HIPAA transactions in the 5010 format. With more than 1,300 changes in 5010, compared to 4010A1, organizations must understand the new information contained in 5010 and how best to use this data. Combined with all of the other corporate strategies that healthcare organizations face, 5010 is a complex challenge – and its deadline is fast approaching. “Deadlines make everybody nervous,” Singh said, adding that organizations that haven’t started implementing a 5010 solution need to do it now.
But the new 5010 standard provides healthcare organizations with the chance to finally unify their information channels, to ensure that they process all of their information – incoming and outgoing – in a consistent way. This will help organizations achieve operational efficiencies and remain competitive, while easing their path to compliance with inevitable future regulations, Singh said.
“Healthcare organizations are getting information from various channels,” Singh explained. “When you make sure that every channel is unified, initiatives like 5010 become much easier to implement.”
Faced with meeting the new 5010 standard, healthcare organizations face three options, Singh said: complete replacement of all systems (“rip and replace”); remediation of core processing systems; and step-up/step-down. Singh noted that the complete replacement of core systems is a very expensive proposition for which there doesn’t seem to be a lot of takers. Remediation takes less time, Singh said, but organizations must have a sizeable team working on the project, and, depending on the existing systems involved, may still require considerable time, money and resource investments.
The option that is gaining the most traction, he said, is the step-up/step-down approach. In this scenario, organizations would convert 5010 information to 4010 and pass it throughout their systems; they also can convert the 4010 information to 5010 format and pass that throughout their systems.
“This is the most pragmatic option if 5010 planning and implementation has not yet commenced,” Singh said. “It has the least impact on core processing systems and other ongoing projects.”
But most importantly, it helps to unify a healthcare organization’s information channels.
Start ARRA Awareness Training Now
By Mark Brousseau
If they haven’t done so already, companies in the healthcare space should conduct organizational awareness training on ARRA and HITECH, Mary Rita Hyland, AVP, regulatory affairs, The SSI Group, Inc., told attendees at the Medical Banking Project Boot Camp at HIMSS10 this afternoon.
Organizations also should conduct a HIPAA and HITECH gap analysis to identify any products, procedures and services that need to be updated and modified, Hyland told attendees. As part of this exercise, organizations need to identify and coordinate technical or product updates, as well as coordinate and implement policy and procedural updates. “Operationally, ensuring compliance with HITECH’s security and privacy provisions is, to a large degree, an IT function,” Hyland noted.
Once they’ve reviewed their systems, policies and procedures, organizations need to audit and assess their compliance. “You don’t want to wait for an audit to be done on you by a whistleblower or someone else in the industry who doesn’t believe you are in compliance,” Hyland warned. “Audits are going to be important in meeting the guidelines and maintaining your compliance.”
If they haven’t done so already, companies in the healthcare space should conduct organizational awareness training on ARRA and HITECH, Mary Rita Hyland, AVP, regulatory affairs, The SSI Group, Inc., told attendees at the Medical Banking Project Boot Camp at HIMSS10 this afternoon.
Organizations also should conduct a HIPAA and HITECH gap analysis to identify any products, procedures and services that need to be updated and modified, Hyland told attendees. As part of this exercise, organizations need to identify and coordinate technical or product updates, as well as coordinate and implement policy and procedural updates. “Operationally, ensuring compliance with HITECH’s security and privacy provisions is, to a large degree, an IT function,” Hyland noted.
Once they’ve reviewed their systems, policies and procedures, organizations need to audit and assess their compliance. “You don’t want to wait for an audit to be done on you by a whistleblower or someone else in the industry who doesn’t believe you are in compliance,” Hyland warned. “Audits are going to be important in meeting the guidelines and maintaining your compliance.”
ARRA: A Whole New World
By Mark Brousseau
Last year was a year of transition for HIPAA, medical privacy and medical banking, Richard D. Marks of McLean, VA-based Patient Command, Inc. (www.patientcommand.com), told attendees this afternoon at the Medical Banking Project Boot Camp at the HIMSS10 conference in Atlanta.
“ARRA changes the rules for security of health information in the United States,” Marks said. “It creates an entirely new framework because it changes HIPAA so much and because it changes privacy in medical records. And, most significantly, it changes the whole approach to enforcement.”
“It’s fair to say that for the last decade, there has not been any real attempt on the part of the federal government to enforce HIPAA,” Marks explained. “ARRA changes that. What it brings into law, for the first time, is the hierarchy of diligence and culpability. There are increased, tiered civil and criminal monetary penalties, topping out at $50,000 per violation, with an annual limit of $1,500,000. These numbers are enough to get your attention. But the statute also includes civil and criminal liability for individuals, as well as organizations. Which individuals, you ask? Well, it could be you! And some people won’t figure this out, and you will see some prosecutions,” Marks predicted.
Integrated health information security is inherent in ARRA, Marks added.
References in business associate contracts now, by law, apply mutually to covered entities and business associates, Marks pointed out. “The impact of that is to rebalance all of the risk allocation that is in these agreements, and it creates a whole new set of possibilities for liabilities. Some folks will be less affected than others. But some of you will be affected will be enormously,” Marks said.
For instance, security is now an active responsibility of the board of directors and senior executives, if you are doing anything that touches healthcare, Marks said. “If you’re a public company you’ve really go to ask yourself how you do disclosure when you have to take on a much greater risk for your information systems,” Marks said. “What this all means is that you must have integrated, shared systems security that is comprehensive and fast, and upgraded from what you now have.”
Some of the changes in ARRA won’t go into effect until 2011. “But some of this is in effect now, because people, such as ambitious state attorneys general, are going to start enforcing HIPAA,” Marks said. “The bottom line is that ARRA makes it a whole new world in healthcare.”
Last year was a year of transition for HIPAA, medical privacy and medical banking, Richard D. Marks of McLean, VA-based Patient Command, Inc. (www.patientcommand.com), told attendees this afternoon at the Medical Banking Project Boot Camp at the HIMSS10 conference in Atlanta.
“ARRA changes the rules for security of health information in the United States,” Marks said. “It creates an entirely new framework because it changes HIPAA so much and because it changes privacy in medical records. And, most significantly, it changes the whole approach to enforcement.”
“It’s fair to say that for the last decade, there has not been any real attempt on the part of the federal government to enforce HIPAA,” Marks explained. “ARRA changes that. What it brings into law, for the first time, is the hierarchy of diligence and culpability. There are increased, tiered civil and criminal monetary penalties, topping out at $50,000 per violation, with an annual limit of $1,500,000. These numbers are enough to get your attention. But the statute also includes civil and criminal liability for individuals, as well as organizations. Which individuals, you ask? Well, it could be you! And some people won’t figure this out, and you will see some prosecutions,” Marks predicted.
Integrated health information security is inherent in ARRA, Marks added.
References in business associate contracts now, by law, apply mutually to covered entities and business associates, Marks pointed out. “The impact of that is to rebalance all of the risk allocation that is in these agreements, and it creates a whole new set of possibilities for liabilities. Some folks will be less affected than others. But some of you will be affected will be enormously,” Marks said.
For instance, security is now an active responsibility of the board of directors and senior executives, if you are doing anything that touches healthcare, Marks said. “If you’re a public company you’ve really go to ask yourself how you do disclosure when you have to take on a much greater risk for your information systems,” Marks said. “What this all means is that you must have integrated, shared systems security that is comprehensive and fast, and upgraded from what you now have.”
Some of the changes in ARRA won’t go into effect until 2011. “But some of this is in effect now, because people, such as ambitious state attorneys general, are going to start enforcing HIPAA,” Marks said. “The bottom line is that ARRA makes it a whole new world in healthcare.”
Solving the Revenue Cycle
By Mark Brousseau
Banks are well positioned to help “solve” the healthcare revenue cycle, thanks to the keystone revenue cycle data that flows through banks every day, Benchmark Revenue Management CEO Tyson McDowell said at the Medical Banking Project Boot Camp in Atlanta this afternoon.
“Banks can solve operational improvement issues for hospitals, while solving transparency and risk management issues for themselves,” McDowell told attendees. He said banks should “grow-up” their healthcare revenue cycle solutions and extend into denial management, denial avoidance, and services that back up their healthcare customers’ revenue cycle workers with “on-demand” talent.
Today, many banks offer lockbox services, patient payment solutions and extended lockbox services.
“The revenue cycle improvement market is exploding due to permanent financial pressures,” noted McDowell. “While the official definition of the revenue cycle is all of the administrative processes related to collecting all fees owed for services to patients, a more practical definition would be: a near futile attempt to collect all the monies owed in a world with thousands of moving parts.”
“A hospital really has no idea how much money it’s going to get paid,” McDowell said. “Hospitals and, to a lesser extent individual doctors, are getting it from all sides. Healthcare providers need to protect themselves. And denial and payment data is the keystone for solving the revenue cycle.”
Banks have unique access to this information, McDowell said, and they offer value-added services like lockbox. “Banks are in a position to provide new services for healthcare. And it comes from the data. The hospital needs someone to tell them why they need to spend money on an improvement.”
McDowell concluded that banks are starting to move in the direction of new healthcare services.
Banks are well positioned to help “solve” the healthcare revenue cycle, thanks to the keystone revenue cycle data that flows through banks every day, Benchmark Revenue Management CEO Tyson McDowell said at the Medical Banking Project Boot Camp in Atlanta this afternoon.
“Banks can solve operational improvement issues for hospitals, while solving transparency and risk management issues for themselves,” McDowell told attendees. He said banks should “grow-up” their healthcare revenue cycle solutions and extend into denial management, denial avoidance, and services that back up their healthcare customers’ revenue cycle workers with “on-demand” talent.
Today, many banks offer lockbox services, patient payment solutions and extended lockbox services.
“The revenue cycle improvement market is exploding due to permanent financial pressures,” noted McDowell. “While the official definition of the revenue cycle is all of the administrative processes related to collecting all fees owed for services to patients, a more practical definition would be: a near futile attempt to collect all the monies owed in a world with thousands of moving parts.”
“A hospital really has no idea how much money it’s going to get paid,” McDowell said. “Hospitals and, to a lesser extent individual doctors, are getting it from all sides. Healthcare providers need to protect themselves. And denial and payment data is the keystone for solving the revenue cycle.”
Banks have unique access to this information, McDowell said, and they offer value-added services like lockbox. “Banks are in a position to provide new services for healthcare. And it comes from the data. The hospital needs someone to tell them why they need to spend money on an improvement.”
McDowell concluded that banks are starting to move in the direction of new healthcare services.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Economy and Medical Banking
By Mark Brousseau
With the current economic slowdown affecting virtually every individual and business today, the need to keep costs as low as possible has magnified some of the key trends that were already brewing in the medical banking services field prior to the downturn, says Maureen Turo (maureen.turo@bnymellon.com), vice president, Healthcare Market Specialist, The Bank of New York Mellon. These trends include revenue cycle improvements that provide a clear business case for saving time and money, and a partner with proven success in finding the right solutions.
There are numerous medical banking services available to help both payers (commercial insurers) and healthcare providers (institutional and professional). The most widely accepted services focus on improving the efficiency and amount of payments collected and posted by providers, Turo notes. Such services include automated EOB data lift, point of service systems, electronic processing and payment-to-contract analysis services.
"Healthcare providers are paying particular attention to those solutions that automate their payment processes for faster outstanding accounts receivables resolution," Turo says. "Automating payment processing frees resources (both staff and technology) to focus on other important payment collection tasks, such as resolving denied and under-paid claims."
Turo says an increasing number of healthcare providers are also looking for vendors to help them build and analyze the business case supporting these new services. "Although many medical banking services do not have any capital expenditure outlay, the services nonetheless require multiple levels of approval due to their impact on numerous back-office functions and financial systems," she explains. "Projects with the strongest business cases are the ones most likely to capture the provider’s attention."
In addition to needing a strong business case to implement these high-impact services, providers increasingly require strong references of potential vendors. They want to talk to other healthcare organizations that have implemented similar services to learn about the process and results, Turo says. Dealing with multiple (and sometimes antiquated) systems, as well as limited IT and project management resources, providers need assurance that a new service will address their most critical issues.
"Until more is known about the anticipated federal healthcare reform, I believe these trends will persist, with automation continuing to drive efficiencies in the healthcare industry," Turo says. "As providers experience success implementing various medical banking services, more will do so. Healthcare providers may not want to be on the leading edge of using these medical banking services, but they will not want to be left behind."
What do you think? Post your comments below.
With the current economic slowdown affecting virtually every individual and business today, the need to keep costs as low as possible has magnified some of the key trends that were already brewing in the medical banking services field prior to the downturn, says Maureen Turo (maureen.turo@bnymellon.com), vice president, Healthcare Market Specialist, The Bank of New York Mellon. These trends include revenue cycle improvements that provide a clear business case for saving time and money, and a partner with proven success in finding the right solutions.
There are numerous medical banking services available to help both payers (commercial insurers) and healthcare providers (institutional and professional). The most widely accepted services focus on improving the efficiency and amount of payments collected and posted by providers, Turo notes. Such services include automated EOB data lift, point of service systems, electronic processing and payment-to-contract analysis services.
"Healthcare providers are paying particular attention to those solutions that automate their payment processes for faster outstanding accounts receivables resolution," Turo says. "Automating payment processing frees resources (both staff and technology) to focus on other important payment collection tasks, such as resolving denied and under-paid claims."
Turo says an increasing number of healthcare providers are also looking for vendors to help them build and analyze the business case supporting these new services. "Although many medical banking services do not have any capital expenditure outlay, the services nonetheless require multiple levels of approval due to their impact on numerous back-office functions and financial systems," she explains. "Projects with the strongest business cases are the ones most likely to capture the provider’s attention."
In addition to needing a strong business case to implement these high-impact services, providers increasingly require strong references of potential vendors. They want to talk to other healthcare organizations that have implemented similar services to learn about the process and results, Turo says. Dealing with multiple (and sometimes antiquated) systems, as well as limited IT and project management resources, providers need assurance that a new service will address their most critical issues.
"Until more is known about the anticipated federal healthcare reform, I believe these trends will persist, with automation continuing to drive efficiencies in the healthcare industry," Turo says. "As providers experience success implementing various medical banking services, more will do so. Healthcare providers may not want to be on the leading edge of using these medical banking services, but they will not want to be left behind."
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Consumers Want Electronic Health Information
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Deloitte’s 2009 Survey of Healthcare Consumers includes some interesting data regarding consumer interest in electronic health records:
… 9 percent of respondents have a computerized personal health record (PHR) compared to 8 percent in 2008
… 57 percent want a secure Internet site that would enable them to access their medical records and pay medical bills, among other things
… 42 percent want access to an online personal health record connected to their doctor’s office
… privacy and security of health information is an issue: 38 percent are very concerned versus 24 percent who are not at all concerned
… 60 percent believe that the government should set standards for how medical information is collected, stored, exchanged and protected, while other view this as a role for health plans (21 percent) and employers (5 percent); 14 percent say no entity should set standards
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Deloitte’s 2009 Survey of Healthcare Consumers includes some interesting data regarding consumer interest in electronic health records:
… 9 percent of respondents have a computerized personal health record (PHR) compared to 8 percent in 2008
… 57 percent want a secure Internet site that would enable them to access their medical records and pay medical bills, among other things
… 42 percent want access to an online personal health record connected to their doctor’s office
… privacy and security of health information is an issue: 38 percent are very concerned versus 24 percent who are not at all concerned
… 60 percent believe that the government should set standards for how medical information is collected, stored, exchanged and protected, while other view this as a role for health plans (21 percent) and employers (5 percent); 14 percent say no entity should set standards
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Healthcare Spending Plans
Posted by Mark Brousseau
The tight credit markets are challenging healthcare providers' ability to access capital, according to the first survey in HFMA's Healthcare Financial Pulse project. More than 70 percent of all survey respondents forecast at least some cutbacks in such capital expenditures as IT systems, medical technology, and facilities construction.
The tight credit markets are challenging healthcare providers' ability to access capital, according to the first survey in HFMA's Healthcare Financial Pulse project. More than 70 percent of all survey respondents forecast at least some cutbacks in such capital expenditures as IT systems, medical technology, and facilities construction.
Friday, March 13, 2009
The Credit Crisis and Medical Banking
By Mark Brousseau
How has the global credit crisis impacted the healthcare automation space?
“All companies are re-evaluating how much they can invest and where they can invest,” Paula Fryland, senior vice president and managing director, Corporate Banking, PNC Bank, said today at the Seventh National Medical Banking Summit in Nashville, TN. “At PNC Bank, we have made a conscious decision to identify a couple of investments in the space of innovation that we think are critical to the bank, and healthcare is one of those. We have a commitment to invest tens of millions of dollars in the healthcare space. There is no sense that there is any retreat from that investment.”
“There are no numbers coming out to suggest you should stop investing in healthcare,” she added.
Fyland told the crowd of 48 attendees that healthcare is a tremendous opportunity for financial institutions. “The potential was significant to begin with, it is growing, and healthcare is ripe with opportunity because it is very inefficient. If your bank has been ignoring healthcare, shame on you,” she said.
“There isn’t a company or institution that hasn’t been effected by the economic crisis over the past six months,” said Al Briand, division head, BNY Mellon Treasury Services, product management and strategic development. “Some of the organic volumes that drive business growth are not there. So what we need to do as an institution is become more diligent about preparing for the future and identifying those areas where the investment will pay off. We can’t count on the increases in revenues like we did in the past. Healthcare is firmly in our growth area and we continue to invest.”
What do you think? Post your comments below.
How has the global credit crisis impacted the healthcare automation space?
“All companies are re-evaluating how much they can invest and where they can invest,” Paula Fryland, senior vice president and managing director, Corporate Banking, PNC Bank, said today at the Seventh National Medical Banking Summit in Nashville, TN. “At PNC Bank, we have made a conscious decision to identify a couple of investments in the space of innovation that we think are critical to the bank, and healthcare is one of those. We have a commitment to invest tens of millions of dollars in the healthcare space. There is no sense that there is any retreat from that investment.”
“There are no numbers coming out to suggest you should stop investing in healthcare,” she added.
Fyland told the crowd of 48 attendees that healthcare is a tremendous opportunity for financial institutions. “The potential was significant to begin with, it is growing, and healthcare is ripe with opportunity because it is very inefficient. If your bank has been ignoring healthcare, shame on you,” she said.
“There isn’t a company or institution that hasn’t been effected by the economic crisis over the past six months,” said Al Briand, division head, BNY Mellon Treasury Services, product management and strategic development. “Some of the organic volumes that drive business growth are not there. So what we need to do as an institution is become more diligent about preparing for the future and identifying those areas where the investment will pay off. We can’t count on the increases in revenues like we did in the past. Healthcare is firmly in our growth area and we continue to invest.”
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Banks See Healthcare Opportunity
By Mark Brousseau
Why do banks want to be at the table in the discussion about healthcare automation? Because it’s a good business to be in, Al Briand, division head, BNY Mellon Treasury Services, said today at the Seventh National Medical Banking Summit in Nashville, TN. “The reality is that it boils down to the business case being there for the healthcare transaction model,” Briand told attendees. “Now, we’re going to investigate whether we can play an even bigger role beyond transaction processing.”
Briand noted that BNY Mellon has deemed healthcare as a growth market from a business and strategy perspective. “The opportunity is there to invest,” he said, noting common elements of need underlie the traditional bank cash and payments business and that of healthcare transaction support. “The synergies of healthcare and treasury management element provide servicing efficiencies.”
Briand said standardization is the key to unlocking the power of technologies such as those for medical banking. “Standards allow technology to be leveraged in a very valuable way,” he said. “Standardization is really the key to accelerating the progress of medical banking and addressing the complexity in the healthcare and banking areas. A lot of different parties need to be involved.”
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Why do banks want to be at the table in the discussion about healthcare automation? Because it’s a good business to be in, Al Briand, division head, BNY Mellon Treasury Services, said today at the Seventh National Medical Banking Summit in Nashville, TN. “The reality is that it boils down to the business case being there for the healthcare transaction model,” Briand told attendees. “Now, we’re going to investigate whether we can play an even bigger role beyond transaction processing.”
Briand noted that BNY Mellon has deemed healthcare as a growth market from a business and strategy perspective. “The opportunity is there to invest,” he said, noting common elements of need underlie the traditional bank cash and payments business and that of healthcare transaction support. “The synergies of healthcare and treasury management element provide servicing efficiencies.”
Briand said standardization is the key to unlocking the power of technologies such as those for medical banking. “Standards allow technology to be leveraged in a very valuable way,” he said. “Standardization is really the key to accelerating the progress of medical banking and addressing the complexity in the healthcare and banking areas. A lot of different parties need to be involved.”
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Stimulus Sparks High-Tech Opportunities
By Mark Brousseau
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), recently signed into law by President Obama, provides welcome news to technology suppliers who are facing a 0.1% 2009 U.S. growth rate, new research from IDC's Industry Insights Companies, reveals.
"With all the uncertainty surrounding the specifics of the new economic stimulus package, one thing is certain – there will be a large amount of government money flowing towards technology spending," said Meredith Whalen, Group Vice President and General Manager of IDC's Vertical Market Business Units. "This new government money will flow to both the private sector and directly to federal, state, and local government."
Included in the $787 billion ARRA package is approximately $20 billion in funding for healthcare IT, including incentive payments to physicians who implement and use eligible electronic medical records systems under the conditions laid out in the law.
"The approximately $20 billion in ARRA funding allocated to healthcare IT investment will have a positive impact and will begin the transformational process the U.S. healthcare industry so desperately needs to remain viable and competitive," said Health Industry Insights' Program Directors for Healthcare Provider IT research, Lynne A. Dunbrack and Marc Holland. "That said, even if implementation proceeds as intended, a number of issues still loom."
Health Industry Insights believes the combination of near-term stimulus funding for patient care, coupled with significant long term incentives and investments in new core health IT infrastructure will accelerate the move toward digital patient information. New Medicare and Medicaid stimulus money will ease cost pressures for many providers, while direct incentives to physicians and hospitals should ensure aggressive implementation of new patient information systems starting in 2011. Between now and 2011, expect significant new spending on standards development and core federal infrastructure.
Industry Insights analysts believe it will be imperative for the vendor community to be both aggressive and agile in their strategy to capture this newly addressable market. This once-in-a-lifetime flood of new technology money requires a new way of finding and following opportunities. Success will not come from traditional business development via relationships and RFPs. While some of these new monies will be allocated via grants and accelerated acquisitions contracts, there will be new ways of engaging with the Government.
"Technology monies will not necessarily be identified as such, but as an element of new and urgent government initiatives," said Teresa Bozzelli, COO and Managing Director, Government Insights. She added, "Vendors must understand when and how to upsell existing contracts when expediency is critical. The vendors must also offer new engagement models to the government, where reward is directly tied to the results achieved against the promise of the economic recovery designed within the stimulus package."
What do you think? Post your comments below.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), recently signed into law by President Obama, provides welcome news to technology suppliers who are facing a 0.1% 2009 U.S. growth rate, new research from IDC's Industry Insights Companies, reveals.
"With all the uncertainty surrounding the specifics of the new economic stimulus package, one thing is certain – there will be a large amount of government money flowing towards technology spending," said Meredith Whalen, Group Vice President and General Manager of IDC's Vertical Market Business Units. "This new government money will flow to both the private sector and directly to federal, state, and local government."
Included in the $787 billion ARRA package is approximately $20 billion in funding for healthcare IT, including incentive payments to physicians who implement and use eligible electronic medical records systems under the conditions laid out in the law.
"The approximately $20 billion in ARRA funding allocated to healthcare IT investment will have a positive impact and will begin the transformational process the U.S. healthcare industry so desperately needs to remain viable and competitive," said Health Industry Insights' Program Directors for Healthcare Provider IT research, Lynne A. Dunbrack and Marc Holland. "That said, even if implementation proceeds as intended, a number of issues still loom."
Health Industry Insights believes the combination of near-term stimulus funding for patient care, coupled with significant long term incentives and investments in new core health IT infrastructure will accelerate the move toward digital patient information. New Medicare and Medicaid stimulus money will ease cost pressures for many providers, while direct incentives to physicians and hospitals should ensure aggressive implementation of new patient information systems starting in 2011. Between now and 2011, expect significant new spending on standards development and core federal infrastructure.
Industry Insights analysts believe it will be imperative for the vendor community to be both aggressive and agile in their strategy to capture this newly addressable market. This once-in-a-lifetime flood of new technology money requires a new way of finding and following opportunities. Success will not come from traditional business development via relationships and RFPs. While some of these new monies will be allocated via grants and accelerated acquisitions contracts, there will be new ways of engaging with the Government.
"Technology monies will not necessarily be identified as such, but as an element of new and urgent government initiatives," said Teresa Bozzelli, COO and Managing Director, Government Insights. She added, "Vendors must understand when and how to upsell existing contracts when expediency is critical. The vendors must also offer new engagement models to the government, where reward is directly tied to the results achieved against the promise of the economic recovery designed within the stimulus package."
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The Stimulus Plan and Medical Banking
By Mark Brousseau
Will the stimulus plan, which includes $19 billion for health IT, bring more widespread adoption and interest in medical banking platforms? Charlie Myers, director of operations, special programs and support, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, based in Baltimore, MD, doesn’t think so.
“Unfortunately, when Washington talks about health information technology, they are talking about electronic medical records,” Myers said during a panel discussion at the Seventh National Medical Banking Summit in Nashville, TN. “Without some effort to go to Washington, D.C. and do some education on Capitol Hill, I don’t think a lot the stimulus plan dollars are going to come this way.”
Another panelist, Christine Smith, product manager-Remittance Solutions, WAUSAU Financial Systems, said, “While the stimulus package may not lead to more widespread adoption and interest in medical banking, I think that consumer-directed healthcare will. Physicians, particularly small ones, will need to become more competitive. And one of the big ways to reduce cost is to take some of the administrative cost out. That’s going to be the big driver of medical banking, not the stimulus plan.”
Laurie Holtsford, director of business office support, Community Healthcare Systems, Franklin, TN, said the stimulus plan could trigger partnerships between healthcare and banking organizations in that some providers may see medical banking as a way to meet rules and regulations without having to build out infrastructure: “I don’t see how providers can build this infrastructure themselves.”
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Will the stimulus plan, which includes $19 billion for health IT, bring more widespread adoption and interest in medical banking platforms? Charlie Myers, director of operations, special programs and support, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, based in Baltimore, MD, doesn’t think so.
“Unfortunately, when Washington talks about health information technology, they are talking about electronic medical records,” Myers said during a panel discussion at the Seventh National Medical Banking Summit in Nashville, TN. “Without some effort to go to Washington, D.C. and do some education on Capitol Hill, I don’t think a lot the stimulus plan dollars are going to come this way.”
Another panelist, Christine Smith, product manager-Remittance Solutions, WAUSAU Financial Systems, said, “While the stimulus package may not lead to more widespread adoption and interest in medical banking, I think that consumer-directed healthcare will. Physicians, particularly small ones, will need to become more competitive. And one of the big ways to reduce cost is to take some of the administrative cost out. That’s going to be the big driver of medical banking, not the stimulus plan.”
Laurie Holtsford, director of business office support, Community Healthcare Systems, Franklin, TN, said the stimulus plan could trigger partnerships between healthcare and banking organizations in that some providers may see medical banking as a way to meet rules and regulations without having to build out infrastructure: “I don’t see how providers can build this infrastructure themselves.”
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Healthcare Feels Revenue Pressure
By Mark Brousseau
Efforts to cut healthcare costs and do more with less continue to deliver bottom line results, Doug Bilbrey, executive vice president, sales & marketing, The SSI Group, said this afternoon during a presentation at the Seventh National Medical Banking Summit in Nashville, TN. But the next phase of the industry’s evolution will see more pressure to maintain and drive revenue growth to survive.
“With the unprecedented wave of new regulations, heightened awareness of corporate governance standards, and greater investor expectations, the need to make decisive value-producing technology investments will impact long-term healthcare strategies,” Bilbrey said. “These trends already are impacting the industry today, but they are going to have a more profound impact in the future.”
Against this backdrop, Bilbrey said medical banking platforms can help free up specific measureable and currently unrealized potential that can immediately support revenue and asset growth.
“The medical banking industry’s role is to provide visionary leadership,” Bilbrey said.
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Efforts to cut healthcare costs and do more with less continue to deliver bottom line results, Doug Bilbrey, executive vice president, sales & marketing, The SSI Group, said this afternoon during a presentation at the Seventh National Medical Banking Summit in Nashville, TN. But the next phase of the industry’s evolution will see more pressure to maintain and drive revenue growth to survive.
“With the unprecedented wave of new regulations, heightened awareness of corporate governance standards, and greater investor expectations, the need to make decisive value-producing technology investments will impact long-term healthcare strategies,” Bilbrey said. “These trends already are impacting the industry today, but they are going to have a more profound impact in the future.”
Against this backdrop, Bilbrey said medical banking platforms can help free up specific measureable and currently unrealized potential that can immediately support revenue and asset growth.
“The medical banking industry’s role is to provide visionary leadership,” Bilbrey said.
What do you think? Post your comments below.
The Case for Medical Banking
By Mark Brousseau
The healthcare industry could eliminate some $30 to $50 billion a year in cost if it could find a more efficient way to process information, Robert Broadway, vice president, Bethesda Healthcare System in Boynton Beach, FL, said today during a presentation at the Seventh National Medical Banking Institute in Nashville, TN. And Broadway thinks medical banking is key to achieving these savings.
“Banks are in a unique position to help hospitals like us,” Broadway told the crowd of 100 attendees. “It is something that should happen. Will it happen? I believe that it will. Our institution is looking to the banking industry to see how we can partner on real tools to benefit for our mutual benefit.”
He added that, “the banking platform is universally accepted, it has earned great trust and confidence, and it has a strong emphasis on security.” What do you think? Post your comments below.
The healthcare industry could eliminate some $30 to $50 billion a year in cost if it could find a more efficient way to process information, Robert Broadway, vice president, Bethesda Healthcare System in Boynton Beach, FL, said today during a presentation at the Seventh National Medical Banking Institute in Nashville, TN. And Broadway thinks medical banking is key to achieving these savings.
“Banks are in a unique position to help hospitals like us,” Broadway told the crowd of 100 attendees. “It is something that should happen. Will it happen? I believe that it will. Our institution is looking to the banking industry to see how we can partner on real tools to benefit for our mutual benefit.”
He added that, “the banking platform is universally accepted, it has earned great trust and confidence, and it has a strong emphasis on security.” What do you think? Post your comments below.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Identity Theft in Healthcare
By Mark Brousseau
As we move closer to the effective date of the FTC’s new Red Flag Rules, identity theft is still a problem in the healthcare industry, Nancy Vickroy, director, healthcare product development and management, TransUnion, LLC, said today at the Seventh National Medical Banking Institute.
Vickroy cited a survey that found medical identity theft accounts for 3 percent of all U.S. identity theft cases each year, and represents an estimated cost of $468,000 annually. She also pointed to a recent study from the Identity Theft Resource Center finding that 13 of the 100 breaches reported this year involved a medical provider or insurance company, and could have impacted 98,000 people.
Vickroy offered attendees some tips for developing an identity theft prevention program:
… Choose red flags that make sense in your environment
… Identify departments that interact with individuals with covered accounts
… Determine types of information gathered and how it is verified
… Develop procedures to detect red flags during the life of the account
… Implement identity verification at every step
… Integrate automate solutions to ensure standardized verification processes
… Train staff in policies, procedures and responses to ensure consistent patient experience
… Develop procedures for triggered red flag accounts for exception handling
… Periodically evaluate for effectiveness and modify as needed
… Track down known incidents of identity theft that occurred despite the program and monitor trends
… Use data to make meaningful modifications over time
What do you think? Post your comments below.
As we move closer to the effective date of the FTC’s new Red Flag Rules, identity theft is still a problem in the healthcare industry, Nancy Vickroy, director, healthcare product development and management, TransUnion, LLC, said today at the Seventh National Medical Banking Institute.
Vickroy cited a survey that found medical identity theft accounts for 3 percent of all U.S. identity theft cases each year, and represents an estimated cost of $468,000 annually. She also pointed to a recent study from the Identity Theft Resource Center finding that 13 of the 100 breaches reported this year involved a medical provider or insurance company, and could have impacted 98,000 people.
Vickroy offered attendees some tips for developing an identity theft prevention program:
… Choose red flags that make sense in your environment
… Identify departments that interact with individuals with covered accounts
… Determine types of information gathered and how it is verified
… Develop procedures to detect red flags during the life of the account
… Implement identity verification at every step
… Integrate automate solutions to ensure standardized verification processes
… Train staff in policies, procedures and responses to ensure consistent patient experience
… Develop procedures for triggered red flag accounts for exception handling
… Periodically evaluate for effectiveness and modify as needed
… Track down known incidents of identity theft that occurred despite the program and monitor trends
… Use data to make meaningful modifications over time
What do you think? Post your comments below.
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