Practice Management

Low Reimbursement, Staffing Shortages Lead to Rural Hospital Closures

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Low reimbursement rates, staffing shortages, low patient volumes, and regulatory barriers are some of the root causes of rural hospital closures, the American Hospital Association (AHA) explains in a...

Physician Practice Costs Grew 20% After Private Equity Acquisition

by Victoria Bailey

Private equity acquisition of physician practices in dermatology, gastroenterology, and ophthalmology was associated with increased healthcare spending and utilization, according to a study published...

Healthcare Executives Concerned About Supply Chain Issues, Cyberattacks

by Victoria Bailey

Healthcare executives see cyberattacks, supply chain disruptions, and tax policy changes as the top risks of 2022, according to a report from PwC. The PwC Pulse: Managing Business Risks report...

Home-Based Cardiac Care Led to Fewer Subsequent Hospitalizations

by Victoria Bailey

Home-based cardiac care led to fewer hospitalizations and better clinical outcomes for patients compared to care received in a hospital setting, according to a study published in JAMA Network...

Hospital Finances Suffered as Margins, Revenue Declined in July

by Victoria Bailey

After experiencing slight recovery during the first half of the year, hospital finances suffered in July 2022 as health systems saw low operating margins and revenue decreases, according to a report...

CMS Offers Provider Resources for Public Health Emergency Ending

by Victoria Bailey

CMS has released guidance to help healthcare providers prepare for the eventual end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and the accompanying waivers and flexibilities. When the pandemic hit,...

Locum Tenens Physicians Help Hospitals Address Staffing Shortages

by Victoria Bailey

Hospitals are increasingly utilizing locum tenens physicians, advanced practice providers (APPs), and telehealth services to address staffing shortages, according to a report from LocumTenens.com. The...

COVID-19 Diagnosis Leads to More Healthcare Utilization Later

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Healthcare utilization goes up for patients who receive positive COVID-19 results because of post-COVID-19 conditions, according to a recent study. The study published in JAMA Network Open earlier...

Medical Billing Outsourcing Market to Grow at 16% CAGR

by Sarai Rodriguez

The medical billing outsourcing market is anticipating historical growth during 2022, with its value expected to grow at a CAGR of 16 percent between 2022 and 2032, according to a recently...

Key Challenges, Strategies for Patient-First Billing

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Patients always come first in healthcare. However, patient-first billing is still a relatively new concept for provider organizations. “Self-pay A/R is really shifting with high-deductible health plans,” explains Adrienne...

Hospitals, Physician Practices Saw High Expenses, Revenues in June

by Victoria Bailey

Hospitals, health systems, and physician practices saw rising revenues and patient volumes in June 2022, but it was not enough to offset the continuously high expenses, leading to negative margins for...

FAH Asks HHS, CMS to Extend COVID-19 PHE, Regulatory Waivers

by Victoria Bailey

The Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) has urged HHS to extend the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) into 2023, stressing that hospitals across the country still rely on the accompanying...

National Healthcare Spending Declines for First Time in 60 Years

by Victoria Bailey

National healthcare spending has declined for the first time in 60 years in the first quarter of 2022, with the country seeing a 1.7 percent year-over-year decrease, a research brief from Altarum...

3 Areas That Will Impact Provider Profit Margins Post-COVID

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Healthcare providers faced a rough couple of years as the COVID-19 pandemic dampened financial growth, but the post-pandemic future should create a favorable environment for provider profit margins,...

Increase in Healthcare Spending Yielded Better Health Outcomes

by Victoria Bailey

Overall, the increase in healthcare spending in the US between 1996 and 2016 led to improved health outcomes, but healthcare spending effectiveness varied across the top 34 causes with high spending or...

22% of Revenue Cycle Leaders Outsource Outpatient RCM Services

by Victoria Bailey

Over one in five revenue cycle leaders handle their own inpatient revenue cycle management (RCM) operations but have turned to outsourcing for some ancillary and outpatient RCM processes, according to...

Rising Expenses Continue to Hurt Health System, Hospital Finances

by Victoria Bailey

Despite seeing minor improvements in revenue and patient volumes, health system and hospital finances were hurting in May 2022 due to rising expenses and negative operating margins, Kaufman...

AHA Shares Strategies for Addressing Healthcare Workforce Challenges

by Victoria Bailey

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has released the first of three reports detailing how hospital and health system leaders can help address healthcare workforce challenges by supporting worker...

Private Capital Investments May Help Sustain Skilled Nursing Facilities

by Victoria Bailey

Skilled nursing facilities need private capital investments to support innovation that will allow them to continue providing care to older adults, according to an ATI Advisory analysis commissioned by...

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