Revenue Cycle Management Interviews

HFMA Annual: Finance Leaders Need to Change the Culture of Medicine

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Healthcare finance leaders can help to fix a broken healthcare system—one in which costs are high and outcomes are poor—by changing the culture of medicine, according to Robert Pearl, MD, Stanford University professor, Forbes...

Cerner’s Next Step With Revenue Cycle Management Technology

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Health IT powerhouse Cerner has been on working on revenue cycle management technology. The company perhaps best known for its EHR systems has been collecting client feedback and testing various capabilities to optimize its suite of revenue...

Lessons Learned from Aetna, Cleveland Clinic’s Joint ACO Model

by Jacqueline LaPointe

In August 2020, Aetna and Cleveland Clinic announced an innovative product for employers in Northeast Ohio. The two leading healthcare organizations partnered to form an accountable care organization (ACO) and to offer a co-branded...

As Revenue Cycle Management Expands, Automation Is Key

by Jacqueline LaPointe

In its simplest form, revenue cycle management is the process healthcare providers use to ask for, track, and collect revenue for services rendered to patients. But as medical billing gets more complex, revenue cycle management is expanding...

How Nebraska Medicine Turns Claims Data into Revenue Cycle Strategy

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Healthcare providers and payers send millions of business transactions a day. These transactions ensure providers get paid for delivering care to patients, but they also create a treasure trove of data points. Claims data paint the picture...

COVID-19 Workflows Improve Medical Coding Efficiency Beyond Pandemic

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Getting shots into arms has been a top priority for healthcare providers since the federal government gave the green light to several COVID-19 vaccines. But while speed was key for immunizers, medical coding efficiency has taken a major...

What Revenue Cycle Can Do to Prepare for Surprise Billing Compliance

by Jacqueline LaPointe

A prohibition on surprise billing is coming at the start of next year and federal agencies have started to release what surprise billing compliance will look like. These new compliance requirements will have a major impact on revenue cycle...Revenue cycle leaders should particularly pay attention to the part of the IFC that prohibits balance billing. “In the rule, HHS emphasizes the need for hospitals and other providers to be proactive in ensuring that they do not...

How Policy, Regulation Will Challenge Consolidation in Healthcare

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Healthcare mergers and acquisitions have promised to bring lower costs, higher quality, and better access to care. But a new executive order is challenging the rapid pace of consolidation in healthcare, directing policy and regulation to...

Moving to the Future of Clinical Documentation Improvement

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Clinical documentation has come a long way since the days of paper medical records. Widespread adoption of EHR systems and now EHR optimizations have modernized the act of clinical documentation, and much to the benefit of the healthcare...

COVID-19 Elevated Consumerism, How University Hospitals Is Responding

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Intuitive navigation and a system-wide effort are key to improving the patient financial experience and patient collections in a consumer-driven, post-pandemic world, according to Kathy LeBrew, chief system revenue cycle officer at...

Revenue Cycle Outsourcing Solves Staffing Challenges for AZ Practice

by Jacqueline LaPointe

The billing team at Tucson Gastroenterology was meeting a bar of excellence, according to Julie Wester, contract administrator at the Arizona-based specialty practice. But that bar was threatened when long-time staff members were starting...

Remote Patient Monitoring, Telehealth Support Value-Based Contracts

by Jacqueline LaPointe

The COVID-19 pandemic has blown the doors wide open on telehealth, especially with new reimbursement parity policies. But value-based contracts can support the growing interest in remote patient monitoring and other virtual care services...

Automating Patient Financial Clearance Cuts Denials, Boosts Payments

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Patient financial clearance is meant to provide a seamless patient experience while ensuring a smooth revenue cycle for providers. But more often than not, the process can be drawn out, burdensome, and even result in barriers to care...

Patient Self-Service Drives Revenue Growth at Inspira Health

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Healthcare has a patient financial responsibility problem. The burden of high deductibles, out-of-pocket costs, and other medical expenses has increased exponentially over the last decade, making it harder for patients to pay their medical...

For Healthcare Financial Transformation, Cultural Change is Key

by Jacqueline LaPointe

If there is a lesson to take from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is that the way healthcare operates needs to change. Sudden, dramatic declines in patient volumes left many hospitals and health systems without a stable revenue source, while...

Why Patient Access is Key to Revenue Cycle Management Success

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Patient access is generally the first encounter a patient will have with a healthcare organization, making it central to the patient experience. But this aspect of healthcare is also a major first for another area: revenue cycle management....

Solving the ACO’s Out-of-Network Utilization Problem

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Physician networks are key to the success of accountable care organizations. Leaders of these organizations, otherwise known as ACOs, lean on their networks of high-quality, cost-efficient providers to improve patient outcomes, reduce costs...

Price Transparency to Digital Billing, Unlocking Financial Experience

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Carilion Clinic has had all of its pricing information on its public website since January 1, 2021, the day HHS implemented a new hospital price transparency rule. Compliance with the new rule—including the controversial disclosure of...

RCM Automation Boosts Practice’s Accounts Receivable Efficiency

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Days in accounts receivable (A/R) is one of the most important key performance indicators for growing practices. In an increasingly complex healthcare environment—and one in which financial responsibility is shifting to the...

Yale New Haven Health Streamlines Patient Billing Experience

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Millions of patients present at Yale New Haven Health each year because they are sick, want to manage their chronic conditions, or simply have a healthcare-related need. With such a large volume of patients, Connecticut’s leading...