A new survey shows that staff shadowing preceding automation integration is disruptive to employees and has negative impacts on revenue cycle productivity. More than half of health systems found staff shadowing to be disruptive and to have negative effects on revenue cycle productivity, according to a national survey . The survey, commissioned by AKASA and conducted through the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s (HFMA) Pulse Survey program, included answers from over 350 chief financial officers and revenue cycle leaders at health systems across the country. Of the health systems surveyed, 68 percent had experienced staff shadowing. Revenue cycle staff shadowing typically happens ahead of implementing automation or other technology tools in order for consultants to document workflows and processes, according to the press release. About one-fourth (23.6 percent) of health systems responded that shadowing only captured a limited number of workflows and the documentation was of...

  A survey shows that 70% of physicians are disengaging from their employers, spelling future physician retention trouble for healthcare organizations. Physician retention is a common challenge for healthcare organizations and the COVID-19 pandemic may have made it worse, according to survey results from Jackson Physician Search. A survey of 400 practicing physicians between October 2020 and November 2020 found that about 70 percent of physicians report being actively disengaged from their employers. The same survey also found that 54 percent of physicians are planning to make an employment change, with most of these physicians (50 percent) saying they are planning to leave their current employer for another. Another 36 percent of physicians planning an employment change said they are considering early retirement or leaving the practice of medicine altogether. Yet just 30 percent of the smaller pool of healthcare administrators surveyed—86 administrators total—reported losing phys...

The antitrust settlement will resolve allegations that Sutter Health engaged in anticompetitive practices, resulting in higher healthcare prices for self-funded plan members. A Superior Court of California judge has granted preliminary approval for a $575 million antitrust settlement Sutter Health proposed to resolve a case alleging that it engaged in anticompetitive practices that drove up healthcare prices in Northern California. The Sacramento-based health system reached the settlement agreement over a year ago with plaintiffs, including California Attorney General and current HHS Secretary nominee Xavier Becerra and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UEBT). The settlement agreement will now be heard by a court for final approval on July 19, 2021. The settlement resolves a class action lawsuit brought on by UEBT in 2014 claiming that Sutter’s anticompetitive business practices caused them to pay more for healthcare items and services than necessary. Attorn...

Nearly two-thirds of the largest hospitals in the US have yet to fully comply with the new price transparency rule, with most missing payer-specific charges. Many of the largest hospitals in the country are still not complying with a new price transparency rule that went into effect on Jan. 1, 2021, according to a new analysis . Nearly two-thirds of the 100 largest hospitals in the US by certified bed count did not meet all the requirements of the new rule, including posting payer-specific negotiated charges on their websites, by early February 2021, researchers from Hilltop Institute, a nonpartisan research organization at the University of Maryland, recently reported in the Health Affairs blog. What’s more, just 22 percent of the hospitals in the analysis appeared to be fully compliant with the rule’s requirements, with some even exceeding the regulation in terms of the amount of pricing information they shared on public websites. Researchers deemed hospitals compliant if their files...

Medicare reimbursement rates will nearly double for the administration of single- and two-dose vaccines. CMS has significantly increased Medicare reimbursements rates for the administration of new COVID-19 vaccines in an effort to accelerate rollout, according to a new announcement. The announcement emailed to journalists earlier today states that the national average payment rate for physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, and other immunizers has risen from approximately $28 to $40 for the administration of single-dose vaccines and from approximately $45 to $80 for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines requiring two doses. Although, the exact reimbursement rate for each dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will depend on the type of entity that administers the vaccine and where the vaccination is furnished. The new rates will apply to vaccinations given on and March 15, 2021. “This new and higher payment rate will support important actions taken by providers that are designed to increase the numb...

Summary What is already known about this topic? Use of telehealth (the remote provision of clinical care) early during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been well characterized. What is added by this report? The 154% increase in telehealth visits during the last week of March 2020, compared with the same period in 2019 might have been related to pandemic-related telehealth policy changes and public health guidance. What are the implications for public health practice? Telehealth could have multiple benefits during the pandemic by expanding access to care, reducing disease exposure for staff and patients, preserving scarce supplies of personal protective equipment, and reducing patient demand on facilities. Telehealth policy changes might continue to support increased care access during and after the pandemic.Article Metrics  Altmetric: News (2) Twitter (149) Facebook (1) Citations: Views:Views equals page views plus PDF downloads Metric Details Figure 2 References   Related Ma...

In order to succeed with healthcare bundled payments, providers must engage post-acute care providers, leverage data analytics, and improve their patient engagement strategies. Healthcare bundled payments are a value-based reimbursement model that uses a single, comprehensive payment to address an entire defined episode of care. This alternative payment model has become a critical stepping stone for providers as they explore risk-based purchasing. Unlike other common alternative payment models, such as accountable care organizations (ACOs) and capitation, bundled payments impose clinical and financial responsibility on providers for a single care episode for an individual rather than the ongoing outcomes of an entire patient population. If total care costs for the episode are below the bundled payment reimbursement, providers generate a profit. However, if total costs exceed the bundled payment amount, providers incur a financial loss. Additionally, providers may earn value-based ince...