As with last week, RACmonitor asked Dr. Ronald Hirsch, vice president of R1 RCM, to summarize the most pertinent regulatory changes recently arising. The following is a transcript of his reporting today on Monitor Mondays. “First, thank you, everyone, for continuing to care for patients and continuing to take this pandemic seriously,” Dr. Ronald Hirsch […]
At one large practice in Bergen County, New Jersey, the waiting room is empty — but its patients are still receiving care. As of mid-March, the practice is still operating, thanks to the group’s willingness to adapt its work flow, sometimes radically, to mitigate the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, patients now call […]
About 60 million Americans live in rural areas and depend on local hospitals for care. In 2019, a record 18 rural hospitals closed, bringing the total closures since 2010 to 124, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. With almost 700 more rural hospitals at risk of shutting, the need for strategies to boost […]
Roughly 50,000 attendees from around the world are expecting to come to Orlando, Fla., the week of March 9 to discuss healthcare technology. But so far, the talk of the conference has been focused on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and what the conference is doing about it. To complicate matters, President Donald Trump is expected to speak […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would update Medicare Advantage plan (MA, or Part C) and the Medicare prescription drug benefit (Part D) program. In years past, CMS has also issued a “call letter,” not subject to the regulatory process, to provide additional information for plans to use […]
In November 2019, CMS published the 2020 Quality Payment Program Final Rule (the “2020 MIPS Final Rule Changes”). Below is a summary of some of the most notable changes to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment Program (MIPS). For a complete list of changes, please review the 2020 MIPS Final Rule or CMS’ Quality Payment Program Resource […]
Improving data analytics in healthcare has potential includes cost savings and improved patient health and wellness. Here are the two ways through which this improvement can be accomplished: Adopt a business analytics strategy that process huge amounts of healthcare data, rather partnering different analytics tools that results in high IT expense and reduced user adoption. […]
Coronavirus continues to dominate the news. This is a developing story will continue to update you on the latest development on this global health crisis. In the wake of the deadly coronavirus (nCoV), U.S. hospitals are preparing for an emergency response nationally by using the four “Ss” – supplies, staff, space, and system. The Centers […]
Last week, the coronavirus that originated in the Chinese city Wuhan continued to spread. The World Health Organization declared a global emergency, and the first case of person-to-person virus transmission was recorded in the United States. The coronavirus outbreak is reminiscent of other viral outbreaks in recent memory, including Ebola in 2014, and SARS in 2003. When viral […]
With an election year just about upon us, there are a number of changes coming from the current administration that are going to impact healthcare in 2020. Changes in allowable benefits, home health, hospice carve-ins, and new CPT codes for remote home monitoring are just a sample of these. There are an additional set of fundamental […]