A bolder, brighter, better healthcare finance industry is within reach
Outgoing HFMA National Chair Tammie Jackson urges healthcare finance professionals to continue making bold moves toward a brighter, better healthcare industry.
Steve LeFar talks about the implications of care deferrals due to COVID-19
The economic and social impacts from deferred healthcare due to COVID-19 were already a major concern in the pandemic’s first year, portending severe declines in health status for Americans who stopped seeking care for fear of exposure to the coronavirus. In this Q&A, Strata Decision Technology’s Steve Lefar shares insights based on extensive data that tell the story of deferred care across the nation, and the likelihood that providers will see a rising tide of severely ill patients.
Cost Effectiveness of Health Report, April 2022
The April 2022 edition of HFMA’s Cost Effectiveness of Health Report includes a preview the May issue of hfm, which focuses on telehealth, a key tool for promoting value-based care CEoH. Another article explores ways to promote health equity in revenue cycle processes, and a case study describes how one health system embarked on an initiative to achieve greater diversity among its revenue cycle staff.
Why ensuring the appropriate assignment of observation status patients is so important
Managing observation status requires a focused and consistent effort. Inappropriate assignment of observation status is expensive for patients and hospitals alike and can impede the goal of providing patients with the right care at the right time in the right setting.
David Johnson: Cracks in the foundation (Part 4): Overcoming a brittle business model
U.S. health systems’ rely on centralized, high-cost platforms (e.g., hospitals) to deliver routine care in an approach focused on optimizing revenues under fee-for-service payment. Yet this approach is inefficient and asset-heavy. To build less brittle, more consumer-centric delivery platforms, health systems must decant procedures to more convenient, lower-cost locations as they pursue full-risk contracting.
3 ways the patient financial experience can improve health equity
COVID-19 shined a bright light on disparities in access to care and health outcomes that existed in the U.S. healthcare system long before the pandemic, but far from improving the situation, it has exacerbated those disparities. Now, health system revenue cycle departments have an opportunity to be part of the solution.
David Johnson: Cracks in the Foundation (Part 3): Overcoming healthcare’s services-need mismatch
Clinical care only accounts for 20% of health outcomes, yet this area is where America disproportionately invests its healthcare resources. To overcome U.S. healthcare’s services-need mismatch, there should be a greater investment in healthy multipliers that help to address the social and economic factors, health behaviors and the physical environment that drive the remaining 80% of health outcomes.
5 ways the ERM playbook for health systems is due for a rewrite
Business risk for health systems has continued to evolve amid huge changes affecting the industry, including those driven by COVID-19. Health system leaders should respond by revisiting their approach to enterprise risk management (ERM) to focus on five areas of risk where their ability to deliver healthcare cost effectively could be compromised: Labor shortages, capital planning amid ongoing change, energy consumption, cyber security and price transparency.
Cost Effectiveness of Health Report, March 2022
The March 2022 edition of HFMA’s Cost Effectiveness of Health Report addresses a key prerequisite to achieving cost-effectiveness: engaged caregivers. A preview of the April 2022 hfm cover story details how one health system has responded to its nurses’ need for increased scheduling flexibility, and a commentary explores steps for enabling physicians to play a leadership role in promoting CEoH. Also included is a Q&A exploring activities on the world stage aimed at achieving the United Nation’s sustainable development goals for healthcare and health equity – and how U.S. organizations can play a role.
How U.S. healthcare can play a larger role on the world stage
Judy Kuriansky, PhD, a professor of psychology, NGO representative to United Nations and trustee of the United African Congress, shares her insights and experiences from working to improve healthcare equity and access among populations in the world who are “furthest behind,” which is a priority in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Kuriansky describes recent international efforts aimed at promoting the United Nations 2030 Agenda, and she address ways U.S. health systems could play an important role in such efforts.