Recent Articles

May 2013

• Refining Charge Capture: One Hospital’s Approach
• Creating Credible, Defensible Patient Financial Estimates
• Ask the Expert: Productivity Standards for Patient-Balance Calls
• Tools:
  • Cashier/Payment Posting Productivity KPIs
  • Customer Service Productivity KPIs
  • Job Description: Charge Capture Coordinator
  • Spreadsheet for Monitoring Charge Entry Timeliness
          

April 2013  

• Zeroing in on Cardiac Care Claims
• Ask the Expert:
  • Benchmarks for POS Cash Collections
  • Financial Clearance KPIs and Productivity  
   
• Tools:
  • Financial Counseling Scripts
  • Point of Service Key Performance Indicators
  • Revenue Cycle Staff Productivity KPIs
                                

Article Archive

Bad Debt

• ANI Notes: Self-Pay, Charity Care and Bad Debt (July 2009)
• Evaluating Bad Debt Agencies (November 2012)
• Members Speak: Innovations to Reduce Bad Debt

Benchmarking  

• Measuring and Managing Cost to Collect (January 2011)

Billings and Collection

• Calculating PFR (September 2012)
• Debt Collections 2.0: Use Social Media to Collect (August 2010)
• $18 for a Baby Aspirin? How One Hospital Minimizes Complaints About Bills for SADs (January 2012)
• Tool: Sample Patient Handout on Observation Services (January 2012)
• Hospitalist Coding & Billing  (November 2012)
• Online Bill Pay: The Login Versus No-Login Debate (February 2013)
• QR Codes May Help Connect Smartphone-Savvy Patients to e-Billing (October 2011)
• Paying Patient COBRA Payments May Reduce Bad Debt (January 2013)
• Reducing Patient Calls About Bills (September 2012)
• Resolving Small Balance Accounts (October 2012)
• Three Patient-Friendly Tools from INTEGRIS (May 2011)
• Tool: A Compendium of Regulations: Hospital Debt Collection and Consumer Credit (July 2012)
• Tool: Centra’s Approach to Consistent, Timely Insurance Claims Follow Up (February 2013)
• Tool: INTEGRIS’ Billing and Customer Service Survey (September 2012)
• Tool: Providence’s Revamped Billing Statements Led to Quicker Payment (October 2012)
• Tool: Sample Policy for Paying Patients’ COBRA Premiums (January 2013)
• When High Deductibles Strike Your Revenue Cycle: Two Counter Strategies (March 2013)

CDM, Charge Capture, and Coding

• Capturing More E&M Revenue in the ED (July 2012)
• Charge Capture for Robotic Surgical Assistance (March 2013)
• Four Ways to Improve Charge Capture Integrity (March 2011)
• New IT System Helps Rural ED Improve Charge Capture, Days to Bill (July 2011)
• Rectifying OR Charge System Issues (March 2011)

Charity Care and Financial Counseling

• Connecting Self-Pay Patients to Financial Assistance  (May 2011)

Denials Management

• Are You Getting to the True Root Cause of Your Denials? (September 2011)
• Build Teamwork into the Denials Management Process (October 2012)

ICD-10/5010

• Assessing Your Organization's ICD-10 Readiness (June 2011)
• Engaging Stakeholders in ICD-10 (April 2011)
• Five Keys to Beginning ICD-10 Implementation (April 2011)
• Forums' Survey: Response to CMS Delay of ICD-10 (March 2012)
• How 5010 Could Affect Your Revenue Cycle Processes (September 2011)
• Keys to Educating Your Staff on ICD-10 (June 2011)
• Minimizing Cash Flow Disruptions During the 5010 Transition (March 2012)
• Tool: ICD-10 Impact on the ED Process Flow (March 2013)   
• Using Computer-Assisted Coding to Stay Ahead of ICD-10 (February 2012)

Leadership and Communication  

• Servant Leadership in Health Care (August 2008)

Medicare Compliance, OIG

• Four Strategies to Prevent Medicare Claim Review Audits (November 2012)
• Staying on Top of Medicare Changes (January 2013)
• Weighing the Pros and Cons of Joining the esMD Initiative (November 2011) 

Registration, Scheduling, and Verification

• Dignity Health Hospitals Increase ED Registrations and POS Collections (June 2012)
• 5 Ways to Beat Patient Access Mistakes Nearly Every Hospital Makes (October 2012)
• Four Tools to Improve OR Scheduling/Preadmission Testing (September 2011)
• Improving Eligibility Verification at Sentara Healthcare (November 2011)
• Patient Identity Theft: A Financial Pandemic (March 2011)
• Patient Registration: Strategies for Peak Performance (September 2012)
• Pre-Encounter Unit Provides Systematic Approach to Registration (May 2011)

Revenue Cycle

• Effect of Economy and Reform on Revenue Cycle (May 2010)
• How HIEs Are Changing the Revenue Cycle
• Including HIM in Cost-to-Collect Metrics (February 2013)
• New England Area Providers Utilize Healthcare Exchange Network (April 2010)
• Providence Health Tools Used for Revenue Cycle Overhaul (August 2010)
• Sutter Health on Revenue Integrity (April 2010)
• Tool: Revenue Cycle Dashboards and Benchmarks for Rural Hospitals (November 2012)
• Using Six Sigma to Improve the Revenue Cycle (October 2010)
• Why Divide & Conquer Is a Great Strategy for a Patient Accounting System Conversion (July 2012)

Self-Payment Collection and Training

• Is Your Organization Spending Too Much on Credit/Debit Card Fees? (October 2011)
• Keys to Successfully Using Prearrival Patient Financial Profiles (April 2012)
• Matching Your Communication Style to the Patient's (February 2011) 
• Tool: Different Communication Styles (February 2011) 
• Scoring and Segmenting Self-Pay Patients (July 2011)
• Tool Script: Reminding Patients of Copayments Prior to Elective Procedures (March 2013)   
• Two Customer Service Interventions for the Business Office (January 2011)
• Tool: The SCORE Acronym for Improving Staff/Patient Interactions (January 2011)
• Tool: Business Office Employee Attitude Survey (January 2011)

Staff Development and Performance

• Determining Call Center Staffing (January 2013)
• Financial Counseling Careers (February 2013)
• How HCA Has Improved Revenue Cycle Staff Productivity (February 2011)
• Tool: Customer Call Quality Review Checklist (February 2011)
• Tool: Revenue Cycle Performance Dashboard (February 2011)
• Tool: Employee Coaching Checklist (February 2011) 
• Improving Productivity for Credit Balance Resolutions (March 2013)
• Tool: Baylor’s Career Ladder Process (June 2012)
• Work from Home Arrangements (July 2012)

Technology

• Is Your Revenue Cycle Technologically Ready for Payment Reform? (September 2011)
• Key Capabilities of a Next-Generation Revenue Cycle Solution (January 2012)