It is that time of year again! The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued the proposed rule that would update Medicare payment policies and rates for the fiscal year (FY) 2023’s Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS). The Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) was implemented on October 1, 2019. This […]
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One of the most challenging conversations in any multi-physician practice or specialty-based hospital employed group is about how to create a fair distribution of on-call and/or inpatient hospital service coverage while balancing the duties of an outpatient practice. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to clinician burnout, and physicians and Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) place significant […]
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“There may be no faster death of a great idea or business than a dysfunctional team”, said Daniel Newman from Principal Analyst of Futurum Research and the CEO of Broadsuite Media Group. Over the last 15 years, hospitals have acquired or employed clinicians and other ambulatory services. Unfortunately, not all employment arrangements are part of […]
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Many outpatient therapy departments think of a no-show and cancellation reduction plan as a discharge plan. For example, if a patient does not show up a certain number of times, the organization may have a policy to discharge the patient. There is certainly a place for this for patients who repeatedly no-show and cancel. But […]
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Great news for 340B Hospitals affected by COVID-19. On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed into law the $1.5 trillion Consolidated Appropriations Acts, 2022. This bill allows Hospitals that have lost eligibility due to a decrease in their Medicare disproportionate share (DSH) percentage as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency to regain access […]
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The Two Midnight rule, adopted in October 2013 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, states that more highly reimbursed inpatient payment is appropriate if care is expected to last at least two midnights; otherwise, observation stays should be used. Original Two Midnight Rule In general, the original Two Midnight rule stated that, Payable […]
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Elective surgical practices have suffered significantly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients seeking elective surgical treatment had their procedures postponed or canceled as hospital systems were striving to preserve bed capacity in anticipation of or in response to a spike in COVID-19 related admissions. Private practices and hospital systems alike lost incredible amounts […]
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In 2021, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the No Surprises Act that went into effect on January 1, 2022. This Act provides Federal protections against surprise billing and limits out-of-network cost sharing under many of the circumstances in which surprise bills arise. Prior to this Act, individuals could be “balance billed” for […]
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For discharges occurring on and after April 1, 2022, coders will have access to new ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS codes. April 1st will also introduce the new Medicare Code Editor (MCE) edit 20 – Unspecified Code Edit. The 2022 IPPS Final Rule stated there would now be coding updates in both October and April. The goal […]
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Healthcare organizations need to pay attention to the amount of time it takes patients to get insurance verification and authorization completed. If the process takes too long, patients will seek treatment at other facilities even if they were referred to your organization. Insurance Verification and Authorization Benchmark Notwithstanding patient choice, outpatient therapy providers should be […]
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CARMEL, Ind. (May 5, 2022) – Blue & Co., LLC is excited to announce our new partnership with Vsimple, a workflow management software company based in New Albany, IN. Blue & Co and Vsimple will be working closely together to address the workflow and process improvement challenges of manufacturers throughout the Midwest. “At Blue & […]
One of the most challenging conversations in any multi-physician practice or specialty-based hospital employed group is about how to create a fair distribution of on-call and/or inpatient hospital service coverage while balancing the duties of an outpatient practice. The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to clinician burnout, and physicians and Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) place significant […]
By: Tom Skoog, Cybersecurity & Data Management Practice Leader Last month, we introduced the concept and importance of Incident Response Plans as part of overall cybersecurity. As stated previously, The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a framework all incident response plans should consider, including: Preparation Detection & Analysis Containment & Eradication […]
