There’s an old adage that every challenge is merely an opportunity in disguise. COVID-19 highlighted the healthcare industry’s ongoing challenge with producing clean, standardized data. As the industry looks to rebound from the severe financial impact of the pandemic, there’s a renewed urgency among hospitals and health networks to improve operational efficiency. The push toward greater operational efficiency – in a time of constrained budgets and resources – has accelerated
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CMS| News, Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
How the Pandemic is Accelerating the Shift to Alternative Care Delivery Models
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we interact with one another, with businesses, and with the world around us. From social distancing to hand sanitation to remote working, its impact on society is immense. And among the various industries that are experiencing significant change as a result of the pandemic, healthcare tops the list. Supply chain disruptions, crowded ICUs and exhausted medical staff has taken a toll on hospitals and clinics — and they’ve had to pivot rapidly to new
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Waystar Launches Price Transparency Solutions to Meet Consumer Demand
What You Should Know: - Waystar, a provider of healthcare payments software, today announced the addition of the Text Statements feature to its suite of payment tools. This new solution enables patients to easily view and pay medical bills directly from their smartphone, bringing transparency and convenience to the patient financial experience – a long-standing focus for Waystar. - Patients frequently don’t know what they’ll owe weeks, if not months after the point of care, If
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Payers Struggle with Provider Data Management Too
Provider data management is usually discussed from the provider perspective: the busy staff, the needless paperwork amid a pandemic, the faxing, emailing and uploading of data. In these scenarios, the health plans are often painted as the villains for their bureaucratic processes and unique requirements. But the reality is that health plans aren’t totally to blame. Payers and providers share a common goal: to provide the best quality care for their patients. The amount of data, including
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Untapping the Potential for Virtual Care in a Pandemic and Beyond
Virtual care is everywhere and ubiquitous. But at a time when the world is amid a global pandemic, virtual care is also being underutilized. The technology exists today to help our healthcare system not only more effectively and efficiently manage care during COVID-19, but also exponentially scale capacity in the face of future outbreaks. Virtual care defined Virtual care is a broad term. It encompasses all the ways healthcare practitioners provide for care remotely. This can mean
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Health Plans Must Go Beyond the ONC Mandate and Prioritize Member Experience
We are all frustrated when there’s a glitch with our online banking, or if bandwidth problems interfere with streaming the movie we want to watch. Imagine how individuals will react when the results of a cancer screening don’t find their way into Apple Health or Google Health, where such information is supposed to be easy to find. Or worse, if an individual is given the wrong information about a cancer diagnosis. An individual’s first call about missing health data or claims is going to
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A New System to Fit A New Economy: How Healthcare Can Recover From COVID-19
We are at a watershed moment. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to reevaluate our priorities both economically and with regard to public health. Living with a healthcare system that was created in response to an emergency measure during World War II, US consumers have struggled for more than a decade to control and understand the rising cost of healthcare. Unfortunately, employer-based health insurance and government-subsidized care continue to be the major drivers of cost and policy. As
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Why CMS Will Lead the 2021 Kidney Care Revolution
After an unprecedented year, kidney care providers, including nephrologists, dialysis facilities, and care extenders are expecting 2021 to follow suit. We will see an overhaul in reimbursement and major industry shifts, partly led by CMS, that will require providers to advance their capabilities in a way that will usher in more widespread innovation. These new models encourage a shift in treatment approach that will deliver earlier interventions and better outcomes. The following are
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Provider Strategies for Mitigating Telehealth Fraud & Abuse in 2021
As healthcare spending continues to rise, so too does the inherent risk for bad actors to take advantage. Today, the United States is estimated to spend nearly 18 percent of its GDP, or $3.6 trillion, on healthcare, and is expected to increase to one-fifth of GDP within the next decade, according to the latest data. This alone provides ample motivation for fraud and abuse. While the full extent of healthcare fraud is difficult to measure, The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association
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Xealth’s CEO Shares Impact of Digital Health in 2020 and What’s Ahead in 2021
HIT Consultant sat down with Mike McSherry, CEO, and co-founder of Seattle-based digital prescription platform Xealth to discuss digital health lessons learned in 2020 and what we can expect in 2021. As Xealth’s CEO, Mike also works with Duke Health, UPMC, Atrium Health, and The Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin health network where he uses his background in digital health to connect patients and care teams outside of traditional care settings. HITC: In 2021, How can digital
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