Healthcare Financial News

Less than 2 percent of nonfederal general acute care hospitals had a comprehensive electronic health record (EHR), according to a new report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Health Information Technology in the United States: On the Cusp of Change, 2009. An additional 7.6 percent had a basic EHR. Teaching hospitals, those with more than 500 beds, and hospitals that were members of a system or located in an urban area more commonly reported having EHRs.

The individual functionalities most commonly reported as fully implemented across all hospital units were electronic viewing of laboratory (77 percent) and radiology (78 percent) reports, and radiology images (78 percent). Approximately one in five hospitals reported fully implemented computerized order entry and clinical decision support.

This report is the third in a series of reports about health IT (HIT) adoption in the United States. This edition highlights the needed integration steps between performance measurement initiatives and HIT. Other topics covered include: adoption of electronic health records in U.S. hospitals, and specifically among hospitals that care for the poor; state roles in the advancement of HIT; and recent federal initiatives related to HIT.

Collaboration and technology are the keys to improving healthcare results for all parties involved, according to Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Senior Vice President and CFO Robert J. Kolodgy. In a keynote speech today at HFMA's Revenue Cycle Strategies Conference in Chicago, Kolodgy outlined areas where providers and payers could collaborate to support innovation and improve patient results. Those areas included care delivery, medical home pilots, electronic health records, e-prescribing and information sharing. Kolodgy pointed to the Alabama Hospital Quality Initiative and the Minnesota Health Information Exchange as examples of collaboration with positive results. He also voiced support for comparative effectiveness via an Independent Research Institute.

Revenue cycle excellence can be achieved by all hospitals and health systems, regardless of an organization’s financial means or patient mix, according to the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s latest PATIENT FRIENDLY BILLING® Project report, Strategies for a High-Performance Revenue Cycle. The 37-page report was released today at HFMA’s Revenue Cycle Strategies Conference in Chicago.

Based on visits to high-performing sites across the nation and interviews with executives and revenue cycle staff, the report identifies three traits shared by high performers: an organizational culture that elevates the importance of the revenue cycle, mastery of areas that are important to organizational circumstances, and the ability to accelerate improvements.

Strategies for a High-Performance Revenue Cycle features detailed research findings, guidance for senior executives and revenue cycle leadership, and numerous case studies demonstrating practical applications of high-performance strategies.

“We know that hospital leaders are committed to the principles of Patient Friendly Billing, but they need to know which revenue cycle practices matter the most,” said HFMA President and CEO Richard L. Clarke, DHA, FHFMA. “This report highlights the practices frequently found at high-performing revenue cycle hospitals—and how they differ from the rest of the industry.”

Oaklawn Hospital, Marshall, Mich., is among the 14 hospitals that shared their expertise with Patient Friendly Billing report leaders through onsite visits and extensive interviews. “Over five years ago, Oaklawn began integrating its adaptation of HFMA’s Patient Friendly Billing Initiative best practices into our organizational goals. Over those years, it has played a significant role in improving our organizational performance and enhancing our patient satisfaction. We recently were recognized with HFMA’s High Performance in Revenue Cycle Award, in part, due to this foresight,” said Rob Covert, President & CEO, Oaklawn Hospital.

Joseph Fifer, Vice President, Hospital Finance at Spectrum Health added “Determining the value proposition for patients and the organization is a critical factor in every decision we make. Hospitals highlighted in this report, that deploy the practices from previous Patient Friendly Billing reports, satisfy this standard by demonstrating tangible and better results.”

More information about the project, including a 16-page executive summary of the report, is available at the Patient Friendly Billing web site, www.patientfriendlybilling.org.