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Medical Coding with Artificial Intelligence: The New Frontier of Medical Coding

By
Digital Saiff, - Digital Lifestyle & Travel Tech Specialist
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Hospital

Artificial intelligence has solved countless human challenges – and medical coding might be next.
As organizations prepare for ICD-11, medical coding is about to become more complicated. Healthcare organizations in the United States already manage 140,000+ codes in ICD-10. With ICD-11, that number will rise.
Some propose artificial intelligence as a solution. AI could aid computer-based medical coding systems, identifying errors, enhancing patient care, and optimizing revenue cycles, among other benefits.
Today, we’re highlighting some of the ways in which artificial intelligence could change medical coding in the future.

How Artificial Intelligence Could Smooth the Launch of ICD-11

It’s impossible for humans to memorize the 140,000+ codes in ICD-10. With ICD-11, we’ll see more codes, making things even more complicated.
The coding of medical diagnosis and treatment has never been easy. In fact, it’s one area where many organizations struggle. Poor coding can lead to missed revenue opportunities. It can impact patient safety, increase insurance denials, and harm reputation.
Could artificial intelligence solve these problems? According to a report from Forbes, medical coding with artificial intelligence is closer than you think – and AI is already solving medical coding challenges for organizations around the world.

First, it helps to understand what ICD-11 is and why it’s important.
International medical organizations currently use the ICD-10 medical coding standard. It’s the tenth version of the International Classification of Disease codes. ICD-10 was created by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has 10,000+ codes available for diagnosis and treatment.
The next version of ICD has already been approved for implementation. WHO member states voted to implement ICD-11 in May 2019, and implementation will begin in WHO member states – including the United States – in January 2022.
ICD-11 is a significant change from ICD-10. It contains four times more diagnostic codes: instead of the 10,000+ codes in ICD-10, healthcare organizations will have 55,000 diagnostic codes from which to choose.
In America, medical coding is even more complicated. There is an enhanced version of ICD-10 specific to the United States. This version has over 140,000 classification codes, including roughly 70,000 codes for diagnosis and 70,000 codes for treatment. It’s possible the American version of ICD-11 could have several times that number.

Could Artificial Intelligence Help?

It’s already impossible for a human being to memorize the 140,000 codes in America’s ICD-10 medical coding system. In fact, it’s impossible for someone to memorize the 10,000 codes in the international version of ICD-10.
That’s why medical coders rely on code books. They thumb through a book or scan a database of codes to find the most appropriate code for the services performed.
Complicating things further is the fact that the same medical service can qualify for multiple codes. Depending on interpretation, there may be multiple ways to code a service.
Some suggest using artificial intelligence to help. As AI becomes smarter and more powerful, many healthcare organizations are turning to artificial intelligence.
Over the past 20 years, healthcare organizations have increasingly adopted computer-assisted coding systems. These systems recommend codes and identify coding errors.
By enhancing these systems with artificial intelligence, organizations can optimize revenue cycle management, avoid coding errors, and enhance patient care.
Artificial intelligence could:
• Identify inconsistent code usage within an organization
• Spot coding errors
• Identify the use of a rare or unique code
• Automatically recommend codes based on the services performed
• Provide actionable data on code usage, patient activity, and medical services performed
• Track codes within a patient’s history to avoid manual code entry with every visit
Overall, artificial intelligence could perform a role similar to contract medical coding specialists, helping healthcare organizations identify missed opportunities.

How Contract Medical Coding Specialists Help

Artificial intelligence will aid medical coding in the future. Today, however, healthcare organizations rely on medical coding specialists to help.
Contract medical coding specialists can implement better systems for inpatient, outpatient, same-day surgeries, ancillary departments, and physician E/M.
Unfortunately, not all medical coding services are alike. Some medical coding specialists have just a few months of training. Others have years or decades of experience.
By hiring the right medical coding specialist, healthcare organizations can optimize revenue cycle management, avoid coding issues, and enhance patient care.

Final Word: Hire a Medical Contract Coding Specialist Today

Like it or not, medical coding is becoming increasingly complex. With the launch of ICD-11, things could become more complex in the near future.
To help your organization prepare for future medical coding challenges, contact our medical coding specialists at HMI, LLC today. With decades of experience optimizing medical coding, HMI, LLC helps healthcare organizations capture missed revenue opportunities and avoid coding errors.

How Small, Rural Hospitals Can Benefit from Revenue Cycle Management Consulting

By
Digital Saiff, - Digital Lifestyle & Travel Tech Specialist
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0
Hospital

When some think of revenue cycle management, they think of larger healthcare organizations with complex needs. But healthcare organizations of any size can benefit from revenue cycle assessments.
Yes, smaller hospitals can benefit from revenue cycle assessments and healthcare consulting. In fact, these assessments could have a greater proportional impact on smaller, rural hospitals.
Rural hospitals need help. In 2016, 41% of rural hospitals in the United States operated with negative margins. As populations age, this problem is getting worse – not better.
Today, we’re highlighting some of the ways that small, rural hospitals can benefit from a revenue cycle assessment.

Understand the Unique Challenges Facing Smaller, Rural Hospitals

The first and most important step is to understand the unique challenges smaller hospitals face. Smaller, rural hospitals face challenges that don’t exist with larger hospitals in big cities:
• 20% of the US population lives in rural regions, yet only 10% of physicians practice in rural regions, leading to a consistent physician shortage of smaller, rural hospitals
• Nearly half of all rural hospitals in the United States operate with negative margins
• Rural hospitals deal with different, more challenging patient demographics than larger hospitals in metro areas; rural areas tend to have older populations and higher rates of unemployment, creating problems for smaller hospitals seeking to optimize revenue cycles
• Hospitals in rural areas deal with more challenging patients than hospitals in urban areas; there are more patients over 65, higher rates of childhood poverty and premature death, and increased childhood mortality rates, among many other issues
Smaller, rural hospitals cannot change these factors: they’re inescapable parts of rural life in many parts of the United States. Instead of complaining about these challenges, good rural hospitals have learned to surmount these challenges by optimizing revenue cycles.

Get Creative When Attracting Physicians

Smaller, rural hospitals may already be operating with negative margins, making it harder for them to attract physicians. Typically, organizations that struggle to attract physicians can increase pay or other benefits. With smaller, rural hospitals, that may not be an option.
Instead, organizations seek other solutions.
Many rural hospitals implement team-based care models that depend on advanced practice clinicians, for example.
One 2016 study by the American Academy of Physicians Assistants found hospitals that used a higher physician assistant-to-physician ratio, reduced care costs more than other teams in the same hospital using a traditional staffing model. These care teams had 3.5% lower costs, for example.
A separate study found that team-based care improved overall organization productivity. A recent MGMA survey, for example, found that implementing physician assistants into patient care led to a 34% boost in productivity compared to similar organizations.
While physicians may be the cornerstone of patient care, many rural hospitals are achieving success by switching to a team-based care model.

Get the Best ROI from Health IT Investments

Rural hospitals also face challenges on the IT side. While larger hospitals have the resources for full-featured IT departments, smaller hospitals do not. This can create technology headaches for patients and staff. It could impact patient data and organizational security.
A 2016 MGMA report found that a typical health IT implementation costs up to $32,500 per physician. That’s a 40% increase in costs over the last five years. That’s a challenging cost for rural hospitals to cover.
Some rural hospitals take a different approach, using paper-based systems even in 2020 and beyond. These clunky systems reduce productivity and reduce patient security, among countless other downsides.
Thanks to technology, there’s a viable alternative: cloud-based systems. Cloud-based health IT systems allow rural hospitals to access the power of a full IT department without hiring a full IT department. They can use cloud-based health IT systems to boost productivity and enhance patient care – all at a comparable cost to what their larger, more metropolitan competitors are paying.
A good healthcare consultant can analyze organizational needs, then recommend and implement the best health IT system.

Reduce Uncompensated Care

Rural areas tend to have higher poverty rates than suburban areas. They also tend to have more adults 65 and older. That means more Medicaid and Medicare claims for rural healthcare providers.
Uncompensated care continues to be an issue for rural healthcare providers. One study found that 6% of rural hospital budgets go towards uncompensated ‘charity’ care, while urban hospitals pay just 5.1% towards uncompensated care. It’s a disproportionate burden for rural hospitals to bear.
Patients are expected to cover the cost of care out of pocket. However, patients in rural areas tend to have higher rates of poverty and unemployment. Even when patients owe money to the healthcare provider, the provider may never get it. Hospitals may setup extended payment plans, only to leave themselves with bad debt.
Healthcare consultants can implement payment systems that enhance a patient’s likelihood to pay, making it easier for rural hospitals to capture lost revenue. Many rural hospitals have achieved success with value-based reimbursement, for example.

Other Revenue Cycle Management Tips for Rural Hospitals

Rural hospitals seeking to compete with larger competitors should implement the following strategies, according to the National Rural Health Resource Center:
• Expand primary care services and hours
• Build a larger primary care network by aligning primary care physicians with other providers, fostering relationships between departments and staff, and creating affiliations with neighboring healthcare organizations, among other partnership opportunities
• Boost market care quality and patient satisfaction scores to get a competitive edge
• Invest in facilities and health IT
• Maximize fee-for-service revenue by building on existing services and customer loyalty (like marketing services to local providers for referrals).

Final Word

Rural hospitals face many unique revenue cycle management challenges. Unfortunately, much of the revenue cycle optimization guidance published today is catered towards larger organizations – not smaller providers.
Fortunately, a health care consultant can help. A good healthcare consulting team can analyze an organization’s needs, then recommend actionable solutions.
Even small changes are magnified at rural hospitals. That means minor improvements can lead to proportionally significant results. Optimizing a single medical coding system can have noticeable impacts on the bottom line.
For all of these reasons and more, consider hiring a revenue cycle management consultant for your smaller, rural hospital. Contact HMI, LLC today to get started.

ICD-11 Medical Coding: How to Prepare your Healthcare Organization for ICD-11

By
Digital Saiff, - Digital Lifestyle & Travel Tech Specialist
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0
Best Vitamins

Healthcare organizations in the United States and around the world use the ICD-10 medical coding standard. Starting in 2022, however, organizations will switch to the ICD-11 standard.
ICD-11 has four times as many codes as ICD-10. That means new challenges for healthcare providers – and new problems with missed revenue, coding errors, and denied claims.
Keep reading to discover some of the significant changes in ICD-11 medical coding, including how your organization can prepare for the release of ICD-11.

What is ICD-11?

The World Health Organization has created the ICD-10 medical coding standard, which is currently in use in the United States and around the world. It’s the tenth version of the International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes.
In May 2019, WHO member states voted to implement the 11th version of that system: ICD-11. As healthcare changes and new diagnoses and treatments emerge, WHO regularly needs to update its coding system.
ICD-11 is scheduled to be implemented in all WHO member states, including the United States, in January 2022.
ICD-11 marks a significant increase in medical coding challenges. While ICD-10 had just 10,000 codes, ICD-11 has over 40,000.
Complicating matters further is that healthcare organizations in the United States use a modified version of ICD-10 that has 140,000+ codes, including 70,000 codes for diagnoses and 70,000+ codes for treatments.
In other words, ICD-11 is expected to introduce significant coding challenges for healthcare organizations in the United States.

Top 4 Ways to Prepare Your Healthcare Organization for ICD-11 Medical Coding

Healthcare organizations in the United States already struggle with ICD-10 coding challenges. Organizations lose revenue, sacrifice patient care, and face insurance denials, among other issues. Across the country, organizations lose billions to coding challenges every year.
With the launch of ICD-11, organizations will face new coding challenges. Smart healthcare organizations are already preparing. Here are some steps to help your organization get started.

1) Become familiar with new ICD-11 codes and chapters

ICD-11 has thousands of new codes and chapters. Many of these codes and chapters have not been seen in previous versions, and they’re totally unfamiliar even to experienced medical coders.
There’s a new code for work burnout, for example. Burnout appears in the ICD-11 section on problems related to employment or unemployment. The goal of adding this code is to make physician burnout a thing of the past.
ICD-11 defines physician burnout as:
• Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
• Increased mental distance or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
• Reduced professional efficacy
Issues like time constraints, technology, and regulations increase the rate of physician burnout.
This code may seem straightforward to implement, but it’s more complicated than organizations realize. As AMA explains, organizations need to differentiate professional burnout from adjustment disorder, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders. Organizations also need to use this classification exclusively for professional burnout – not burnout in other areas of one’s life.
This is just one example of how ICD-11 will change the way organizations handle various challenges. Smart organizations are familiarizing themselves with these new codes and chapters today to avoid surprises in the future.

2) Update EHR and revenue cycle management software

To prepare for ICD-11, organizations need to ensure they have the latest versions of EHR and revenue cycle management software.
Inevitably, during the switch to ICD-11, some organizations will get stuck using older versions of software. This will introduce significant coding challenges and missed revenue opportunities, among many other issues.
Ensure your EHR and revenue cycle management software is updated and optimized to the new changes to ensure a smooth transition process.

3) Hire someone to oversee ICD-11 implementation

Some organizations are hiring leaders to oversee the implementation of ICD-11. These leaders self-assess the organization for coding discipline. They oversee training efforts in the leadup to January 2022. They lead educational initiatives for the new codes and challenges of ICD-11.
Ultimately, organizations that start preparing for ICD-11 today will be better equipped to handle these challenges than their competitors – and that means better organizational efficiency moving forward.

4) Hire a medical coding specialist

ICD-11 can be overwhelming – especially for organizations that lack medical coding leaders.
Many organizations have begun to hire medical coding specialists to prepare for the implementation of ICD-11.
A good medical coding specialist can optimize revenue cycle management, reduce coding errors, and enhance patient care, among other benefits. Even months before ICD-11 is implemented, medical coding specialists can recommend actionable changes that improve the efficiency of your organization.
Medical coding specialists are experts at ICD-10 and ICD-11. It’s their job to understand the unique challenges of ICD-11. They know the medical coding challenges faced by organizations, and they know the changes organizations need to make to optimize efficiency during the shift.

How HMI Helps with ICD-11 Medical Coding

Contact HMI, LLC to hire a contract medical coding specialist today.
HMI, LLC has a proven reputation for solving complex organizational challenges. We’ve helped organizations deal with ICD-10 coding challenges – and challenges related to the upcoming launch of ICD-11, among many other coding challenges.
Optimize your revenue cycle today by solving your organization’s coding challenges. Hire HMI, LLC and discover how your organization can improve and prepare for ICD-11 medical coding.

4 Success Stories of Rural Hospitals Solving Modern Challenges

By
Digital Saiff, - Digital Lifestyle & Travel Tech Specialist
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0
Hospital

Rural hospitals face considerable challenges throughout the country. While some rural hospitals thrive in challenging situations, others falter.
Today, we’re highlighting some of the best success stories of rural hospitals across America, including situations where ingenuity, creativity, and flexibility saved small hospitals in rural settings.

Rural Hospital in Beatrice, Nebraska Specializes in Healthcare for Older Adults

Rural areas of America tend to have older populations than urban areas. This increases challenges for rural hospitals.
It’s hard enough running a small, rural hospital. These challenges increase with older populations who have larger, more complicated healthcare needs – and who also tend to be Medicare patients.
Despite these challenges, a small hospital in Beatrice, Nebraska is thriving by implementing a seemingly obvious solution: they’ve invested in aging healthcare, allowing them to specialize in the specific areas where older adults need them most.
The average age in Beatrice, Nebraska is 6 years older than the average age in Nebraska. It’s an older, rural town with a population of 12,200 people.
To address these challenges, the Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center (BCHHC) has implemented a range of solutions. BCHHC has continued to grow, opening a new building while doubling patient numbers since 2009.
What did BCCHC do differently? The hospital made significant investments in treating and serving the area’s aging residents. As the town’s population gets increasingly older, several nursing homes have opened in town, with BCCHC being the primary medical hub for these residents.
Today, BCHHC is the second largest employer in Beatrice. It has a 25-bed hospital employing 512 people with a payroll of $28 million. The hospital earned $100 million in revenue last year – even as other businesses are leaving Beatrice en masse.
Because of their foresight, the Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center continues to thrive amid uncertain times for small, rural hospitals.

Small Hospital Thrives in 6,500 Person Town in Indiana

Similar to the BCHHC success story, Margaret Mary Community Hospital has succeeded in Batesville, Indiana by specializing in caring for older adults.
Batesville, Indiana is home to 6,500 people. To address their needs, Margaret Mary Community Hospital has built a rheumatology program specifically catered to the town’s aging population.
Like Beatrice, Batesville has an older than average population. By focusing on what they do well, and addressing the town’s healthcare needs, Margaret Mary Community Hospital has achieved success.
All of this healthcare investment attracts older retirees to the area. Residents can buy a three-bedroom home in Beatrice for around $70,000. With good healthcare and a low cost of living, Batesville’s future – and the future of Margaret Mary Community Hospital – looks bright.

Childress, Texas Hospital Grows in One of America’s Toughest Markets

Texas has been hit particularly hard by the rural health crisis in the United States. Small hospitals across the state have closed over the past two decades.
Despite these challenges, the hospital in Childress, Texas remains a success story. The 39-bed non-profit Childress Regional Medical Center is one of he few Texas hospitals operating profitably in these times.
What has Childress Regional Medical Center done differently? Some of the strategies implemented by the hospital include:
• The hospital offers expanded services, which means local residents no longer have to drive two hours to reach the nearest hospital; this approach led to nearly 1,000 new patient visits in the most recent fiscal year
• ¬Childress Regional Medical Center has invested in telemedicine units while also increasing the number of doctors and hours at its primary care clinic – all while competing hospitals have taken an opposite approach by cutting hours and service
By expanding staff and hours, Childress Regional Medical Center has become the go-to hospital for patients throughout the region.
Locals no longer have to travel hours to visit neighboring medical centers, for example, because the hospital hired an orthopedic surgeon in 2013. The hospital also hired an oncologist who visits the hospital once per month, with specialists in urology and cardiology visiting Childress Regional Medical Center on a similar schedule.
The hospital has also received a boost with telemedicine. Telemedicine allows physicians at Childress Regional Medical Center to consult with specialists at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, making it easier to handle complex cases.
For all of these reasons, Childress Regional Medical Center continues to be a notable success story in a state where rural hospitals face increasing challenges.

Haleyville, Alabama Hospital Reverses Closure After Community Funding Effort

Rural hospitals exist because of their communities. Sometimes, the community needs to save the hospital – not the other away around.
Such was the case in Haleyville, Alabama. In 2017, Lakeland Community Hospital in Haleyville, a town of around 4,000 people, announced it was closing down due to declining profits. After the closure, the closest emergency room would have been a 45-minute drive away.
The community banded together in response. Haleyville’s mayor, Ken Sunseri, began making calls to other hospitals in the region to explore how other legislators handled similar situations.
Mayor Sunseri repeatedly received similar advice: take ownership of the hospital and fight to keep it open – so that’s exactly what Haleyville did. Hospital employees worked extra shifts as the city worked to acquire the hospital from Tennessee-based Curae Health, which had recently filed for bankruptcy. Local authorities approved a 1% sales tax and an increase in county property tax to help fund the hospital.
Like rural Texas, rural Alabama has faced significant issues with hospital closures. The success story of Haleyville’s Lakeland Community Hospital shows it can take a community effort to save a rural hospital – but the effort is often worth it.

What’s Next for Rural Hospitals?

The success stories above show that rural hospitals can thrive even in uncertain times. While rural hospitals face challenges across the country, many hospitals continue to thrive, grow, and expand.
Request a free consultation with HMI, LLC today and get leading healthcare consultation from an organization with 30+ years of experience in revenue cycle management, medical coding services, physician services, chargemaster services, compliance, and more for all sizes of healthcare organizations.

These are the types of watches every man should own. 

By
Digital Saiff, - Digital Lifestyle & Travel Tech Specialist
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0

These are the types of watches every man should own. With its dozens and lots of moving parts, a mechanical watch movement can be an inherently intricate thing. You put in along with the numerous acts beyond the moment — a calendar, even a chronograph clock, a moon phase, etc. — plus it’s straightforward see why they are called “complications” Much to a good deal of dedicated see guys it may be confusing to know the way they function. But throughout the past couple of years, we’ve done our research on several different varieties of watches. By the inventive mechanical-quartz chronograph into the complex, Haute Horlogerie darling tourbillon, here is the thing you want to find out about Types of wrist watches:

Automatic Watch

At first glance, the interiors of an automated watch look nearly equal to that of a mechanical watch. The vital difference between both is that, while both are driven by gears (which can be, in turn, caused with means of spring)the spring at an automatic watch should not be wound. While most (though perhaps not all) might still have a twisting knob jutting from both sides of the casing, so it doesn’t have to be employed by the wearer.

Like direct watches, automatic watches provide a clicking noise based on this gear and spring used within. The one big difference between your two watches is the watery watch’s spring has been wrapped up mechanically. Outside that essential gap, both kinds of watch usually function in the same method. This is the situation; automatic watches may even have to get used to a horologist for cleanup to a semi-regular occasion if you be prepared to continue to keep it in working order for any substantial period. When you fancy a hobbyist, you could get in cleaning yourself, saving gas, time and income.

Quartz Watch

The quartz watch has become the most precise time tracker readily devised (except that the nuclear clock isn’t so helpful for wrist-watches ). The theory behind it’s straightforward: a coral reefs crystal is designed to vibrate with an electrical circuit in a consistent frequency. Electric impulses are subsequently translated into motion to switch the clock.

The Chronograph

Even though the majority folks won’t moment such a thing outside having a boring meeting or chilled eggs, a chronograph is about openness, potential and the individual interaction having a microengineering marvel — never to say that the rare chance to prevent time.

The Dive

The name gets the word dip inside it, which does not mean just divers can put it on. This watch model is versatile, simple to see and can be incredibly water-resistant. This implies that if you’re vacationing, this one will be handy having its elevated durability element. This one combines nicely with any form of outfit. In reality, even James Bond sported that one together with his tux. It’s that versatile and superior.

Sports-watch

It’s quite apparent a sports-watch makes it possible to remain busy, irrespective of what workout you pick. This is a must-have in these times, since it won’t the only showtime and will look after the way you live. Light featured and comfortable with heated water immunity; a smart-watch is the ideal accessory you may match in the fitness centre and other casual events. Not precisely that, too, it keeps a check up on your heartbeat, several calories count so that you exactly understand how stringent your work out should be. Must gift!

Digital Watch

The electronic watch displays moment onto a LED display by siphoned from conventional dials and hands, popularly called the analogue clocks. Because of power the LED monitor, digital watches employ electrical circuits and quartz crystals to keep time accurately. There are also some beautiful collection of digital watches for women.

Smart-watch

The introduction of Smart-watches changed the match in the watch sector. They have been small computers that readily connect with mobile and give a significant number of features. Notably calendar alarms, steps tracking, elevation, calls, messages. As a result of all of the functions, the battery will not go more than daily. A broad con is that period isn’t shown while the battery runs out of energy. These are the types of watches every man should own. 

Best Employee Training Opportunities to Enhance Organizational Revenue

By
Digital Saiff, - Digital Lifestyle & Travel Tech Specialist
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0
Tips to Improve Employee Loyalty

Healthcare organizations have many opportunities to train employees and enhance organizational revenue.
By taking advantage of these opportunities, healthcare organizations can significantly improve their bottom line.
From lean healthcare workshops to continuing education programs to other professional training systems, employee training opportunities can enhance organizational revenue in various ways.
Today, we’re exploring some of the best employee training opportunities for small and large healthcare organizations.

Lean Healthcare Workshops

Lean healthcare workshops can singlehandedly change an organization’s bottom line. The idea of running a lean organization is nothing new in and out of healthcare – but healthcare organizations across the country are increasingly taking advantage of lean healthcare workshops to implement new techniques, philosophies, and management systems.
Some of the topics covered in a lean healthcare workshop include:
• An overview of lean healthcare practices, philosophies, and systems and how they work
• How all elements of a healthcare organization work together to create a lean organization
• Specific examples of healthcare organizations successfully implementing lean practices to rejuvenate operations
• How to identify core problems at a healthcare organization, including specific trouble spots that can benefit from a lean healthcare philosophy
By scheduling a lean healthcare workshop, organizations can discover the best practices modern organizations are using to maximize revenue while minimizing losses.

Positive Work Environment Workshops

Many healthcare organizations recognize the importance of employee revenue training and employee certifications.
However, many organizations overlook another crucial aspect of patient care: a quality work environment, good employee relationships, and a good work-life balance.
Employee turnover is a significant expense for healthcare organizations. According to Employee Benefits News, employee turnover costs a company approximately $15,000 per employee who makes an average salary of $45,000. For employees who make a higher salary, the cost of employee turnover is much higher.
The top reasons employees leave a healthcare organization are:
• Career development, and an inability to grow or expand their skills at their current employee
• Work-life balance, particularly among younger adults or parents
• Management behavior, including the way managers treat employees and the things employees expect from managers
By addressing these areas, healthcare organizations are better able to attract and retain talent.
One of the best ways to address these areas is with employee training and workshops. Available training programs include:
Stress Management Workshops: Some employers invest in stress management workshops. These workshops explain how to reduce emotional exhaustion, manage stress, manage anger, and encourage positive thinking. By clarifying goals and team roles, these workshops can prevent employees from suffering negative consequences related to their work.
Employee Training Investments: Employees like to feel valued. They like to feel an employer has invested into their careers and development. It makes an employee less likely to leave. A growing number of healthcare organizations fund employee training, specialization, and certification programs. By investing in a healthcare employee, you get a better employee who is less likely to leave.
Work-Life Balance Initiatives: Work-life balance initiatives promote employee loyalty, making it less likely for skilled talent to leave for competing organizations.

Computer-based Training Modules

Healthcare is more computerized than it’s ever been before – yet many hospitals continue to use aging infrastructure.
Hospitals with aging infrastructure risk being left behind. As competitors invest in employee training initiatives and big technology, some organizations risk dropping behind their competitors.
Offer computer-based training modules to employees. Make sure employees understand how to use – and maximize the benefits of – healthcare technology. Take advantage of big data. Give tablets to patients.
There’s more healthcare technology available today than ever before, and it’s impossible for an organization to utilize all of it – but the sooner your organization invests in healthcare technology training initiatives, the more successful the organization will be in the long run.

Final Word

The health system offers thousands of training courses each year. Some of these courses are mandatory to maintain certification. Others are optional.
By emphasizing the right healthcare training programs, organizations can succeed, grow revenue, and retain talent.

4 More Rural Hospital Success Stories from Small Towns Across America

By
Digital Saiff, - Digital Lifestyle & Travel Tech Specialist
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0
Hospital

Rural hospitals are closing across the country. Naysayers may say it’s the end of rural healthcare as we know it. However, many hospitals are flipping this trend on its head.
America’s best rural hospitals are thriving in uncertain times by expanding care, taking advantage of telemedicine, and specializing in in-demand areas.
By taking this approach, rural hospitals have grown revenue even when dealing with aging populations, higher-than-average Medicare patient totals, and other challenges that have sunk competing providers.
Today, we’re exploring four more rural hospital success stories from small towns across the United States.

Gold Beach, Oregon Hospital Increases Services, Becomes Economic Driver for Region

Gold Beach, Oregon is a small, relatively isolated community along a picturesque section of Oregon’s southern coast.
For decades, the community was served by a small, outdated facility built in the 1950s. The facility exclusively provided acute care, meaning patients had to travel long distances to access specialized medical treatment.
Things became progressively worse for Gold Beach’s Curry General Hospital over the years. The facility could no longer meet local needs, and the building itself was not compliant with building doctors. The facility struggled to attract and retain doctors.
Things changed when the hospital received new funding. Residents of the Curry Health District approved a $10 million fund to fund construction on the facility. The hospital received an additional $20.9 million through the USDA Rural Development’s Community Facilities Program. By taking advantage of favorable interest rates and 40-year terms, the rural district was able to afford considerable healthcare spending it would normally be unable to afford.

Kalispell, Montana Emphasizes Outdoor Lifestyle to Attract Talent

Some rural hospitals have turned a disadvantage into an opportunity. Rural hospitals can be isolated – but that doesn’t mean they can’t attract talent.
Kalispell, Montana is a relatively isolated city in a picturesque corner of the state. Although isolated, the city is surrounded by world-class ski hills, Glacier National Park, multiple lakes, and considerable outdoor adventure opportunities.
By emphasizing these opportunities, Kalispell has attracted high-quality medical care to the region regardless of the remoteness.
On July 1, 2020, Kalispell Regional Healthcare opened the first floor of Montana Children’s. The $60 million facility was funded by debt, operating reserves, and philanthropy.
The opening is a big deal for the city of Kalispell. Previously, Kalispell residents needed to visit Spokane, Washington – four hours away across multiple wintry mountain passes – to get similar patient care for children. Parents of children with chronic diseases were forced to move to Spokane, Denver, and other larger cities – or face multiple harrowing drives each winter.
Now, thanks to the new opening, Kalispell residents can access quality patient care even in a relatively remote area.

North Dakota Hospital Thrives Thanks to Booming Oil and Gas Operations

In neighboring North Dakota, hospitals have faced a surge in revenue thanks to the booming oil and gas industry.
North Dakota’s McKenzie County saw its population double between 2010 and 2020, due mostly to oil and gas operations in the region. As the population grew from 6,000 to over 12,000, local legislators recognized the urgent need to expand healthcare.
Using federal and state loans, funding from the oil industry and private citizens, and a sales tax increase, the region opened the new McKenzie County Hospital in Watford City in June 2018.
Before the opening the hospital, residents had to drive 50 minutes to access surgeries and preventative healthcare services. Today, residents of the 12,000-person county enjoy high-quality healthcare even in a relatively remote, rural setting.
And, like Kalispell, McKenzie County has attracted talent by emphasizing the rural setting:
“Not everybody wants to live in a city, and not everybody should, and there are great places in America that should not have to suffer with second-class health care,” explains Patsy Levang, board chair of McKenzie County Healthcare Systems, in a statement to US News.

Mississippi Town, Population 1,600, Revitalizes Local Economy with Federal Grant

Mississippi’s Field Memorial Community Hospital (FMCH) is located in a town of 1,600 residents. While other hospitals serving similarly-sized towns close down, FMCH is taking the opposite approach.
Thanks to a federal grant, FMCH is building a new $21 million facility that will introduce big changes to local residents.
Centreville is located about 130 miles northwest of New Orleans, and approximately one-third of residents live below the poverty line.
The goal is to use FMCH as an economic driver for the region.
“A lot of times in the rural communities your health care systems are your economic drivers, and that’s true here,” explains Chad Netterville, chief executive of the Field Memorial Community Hospital, in a statement to NY Times, which covered the expansion in April 2015.
Today, Centreville has a 16-bed hospital thanks to the federal economic development program designed specifically to increase investment in low income communities. By targeting rural hospitals and expanding patient care, federal grants can revitalize local economies while contributing to higher-quality patient care.

Final Word

Since 2010, more than 100 rural hospitals across the country have closed down, according to a study from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
While times are tough for some rural hospitals, others have succeeded despite these challenges. They’ve turned challenges into opportunities, taking risks where other hospitals are not willing.
Contact HMI, LLC today for expert revenue cycle management consulting, chargemaster service consulting, coding services, and more. Founded in 1989, HMI, LLC has revitalized small and large healthcare organizations across the county.

Why Healthcare Employees Leave: And How to Attract and Retain Top Talent

By
Digital Saiff, - Digital Lifestyle & Travel Tech Specialist
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0
Best Vitamins

Many healthcare organizations struggle to retain talent. Unfortunately, this leads to big losses.
A median turnover in the emergency medical services (EMS) space costs an agency $72,000, according to Prehospital Emergency Care.
Meanwhile, the average cost of a turnover for a bedside RN is $52,100, causing the average hospital to lose $4.4 million to $6.9 million. Some healthcare organizations spend 5% of their annual operating budget on employee turnover and related expenses.
By emphasizing employee retention and minimizing patient turnover, healthcare organizations can save millions of dollars per year.
Today, we’re explaining why employees leave – and how today’s top healthcare organizations are attracting and retaining top talent.

Top 3 Reasons Employees Leave

Healthcare employees leave organizations for any number of different reasons. However, one study found that professional development, poor work-life balance, and bad managers were responsible for most departures.
According to a study featured in Employee Benefits News, 75% of the reasons employees leave could be prevented. Here are the top 3 reasons employees leave, according to that study:
Career Development: When healthcare organizations fail to give professional development opportunities to employees, they’re more likely to leave. Thanks to several recessions, employees understand the importance of having specialized skills. If organizations fail to invest in employee training initiatives, or if organizations fail to give employees professional opportunities, employees are likely to leave for greener pastures.
Work-Life Balance: Many employees leave organizations because of poor work-life balance. Work-life balance is important among all age groups, but it’s particularly important among millennials and parents (a class that is increasingly becoming blurred). Even older adults seek good work-life balance as they seek to care for increasingly aging parents.
Management Behavior: Good employee-manager relationships are crucial to retaining talent. Training your managers to treat employees well has always been important, but it’s more important today than it has been with past generations. Employees, particularly younger employees, are more likely to stick with an organization when that organization treats them well.

1) Top 5 Ways to Reduce Employee Turnover

75% of employee turnover is preventable. By targeting and reducing preventable employee turnover, healthcare organizations can have a meaningful impact on their bottom line.
Foster a Positive Work Environment
Millennials increasingly value a positive work environment over salary and other benefits. Millennials are willing to take a pay cut if it means working in a less stressful position with better work-life balance.
According to the Harvard Business Review, healthcare organizations can have a negative work environment because of the following issues:
The Stress of Hierarchy Positions: High-stress jobs have 50% higher healthcare expenses than low-stress jobs. A company’s work environment could literally increase healthcare costs and have a significant impact on employee health.
Employee Disengagement: Disengaged workers are 37% more likely to skip work, according to a study by the Queens School of Business. Disengaged workers are also more likely to cause accidents, make errors, or produce work with defects.
Low Loyalty: Workplace stress decreases employee loyalty, making it 50% more likely for employees to leave.

2) Promote Communication & Feedback Among Employees

Even employees at the best-run organizations have issues. When employees have issues, it’s crucial they have a way to communicate and provide feedback related to those issues.
Take the time to build a relationship with employees. Foster communication with employees. Let employees know they can approach you with various challenges and issues.
Organizations with poor manager-employee relationships can stifle this communication, leading to low employee retention, bad patient care, and overall organizational issues. When employees feel they cannot communicate with managers, it’s bad for any healthcare organization.

3) Invest in Career Development

When organizations invest in an individual’s career development, it reduces the chances of that individual leaving. Individuals like to feel valued. They want to know an employer is investing in their future and their skills.
Invest in an employee’s career development. Invest in employee certifications and educational initiatives.
By investing in career development, you not only get a better employee – you get a more loyal employee. By combining career development with other strategies listed here, healthcare organizations can maximize employee retention.

4) Emphasize Employee Safety

Healthcare organizations that fail to invest in employee safety are unlikely to retain top talent.
This lesson is particularly true during the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare organizations that did not invest in employee safety early observed a mass exodus of employees.
Employees want to feel valued. They want to feel like more than just a number. They want to feel like human beings with real goals, needs, and safety concerns. When a healthcare organization ignores all of that, it leads to poor employee retention.

5) Invest in Customized Workplace Training

Not all employees learn the same way. Some employees will appreciate your learning initiatives – while others will feel left behind because it’s not catered to their learning system.
Millennial employees tend to learn differently than older employees, for example. As millennials continue to dominate the workforce, healthcare organizations need to adjust their training systems to avoid having employees feel left behind.
Invest in customized coaching instead of pre-packaged modules. Host real classes and educational initiatives. Emphasize employee training to maximize retention.

Request a Free Consultation with HMI, LLC Today

From employee retention to medical coding and revenue cycle management, HMI, LLC has 30+ years of experience helping healthcare organizations tackle the toughest challenges.
Request a free consultation with HMI, LLC today to discover how today’s best practices can help your organization attract and retain top talent.

Top 5 Ways a Healthcare Revenue Cycle Consulting Service Can Boost your Bottom Line

By
Nusrat Khan, Business/FinTech Analyst
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0
Healthcare Revenue Cycle

Today’s leading healthcare organizations rely on healthcare revenue cycle consulting services to be successful.
How can a consulting service like HMI Corp boost your organization’s bottom line? Today, we’re highlighting some of the ways healthcare consulting services can enhance your organization’s revenue.

Intelligent Security Auditing

The security of a healthcare organization is paramount. Security audits can identify weaknesses within all aspects of an organization’s operations.
A security audit can identify problems with premises security, for example, and the ways in which malicious individuals might attempt to access facilities.
Or, the audit could identify digital security issues, including how the employees respond to phishing attempts.
Without regular security audits, a healthcare organization can trick itself into thinking it’s secure. When a healthcare revenue cycle consulting service performs a security audit, however, it can indicate what works – and what needs to be improved – for maximizing revenue.

Risk and Compliance Assessments to Identify Potential Problems Before They Become Expensive

Smart healthcare organizations anticipate risks before they impact the organization. In a recent report from consulting firm Crowe, healthcare researchers defined a risk as, “anything that might impede the organization’s ability to achieve its goals in critical areas such as patient care, regulatory compliance, operations, strategic growth, and financial performance.”
One of the major benefits of hiring a healthcare revenue cycle consulting service is that you can identify risks and take action early.
A consulting service might identify compliance issues, for example, that could enhance the risk of audits and challenges from insurance companies. Chargemaster issues, on the other hand, could raise the risk of disruptions to the care and billing process.

Comprehensive Cybersecurity Analysis for Enhanced Protection

Healthcare organizations that ignore cybersecurity expose themselves to significant risk. The healthcare industry is increasingly under attack by all types of bad actors. Hackers might try to access patients’ medical records, for example, creating a compliance nightmare for an organization.
A cybersecurity analysis can identify your organization’s strengths and weaknesses. It can spot security holes before bad actors find them.
Some cybersecurity analyses can even involve penetration tests – or pen tests. These tests show how your organization responds to a real threat. This pen test could involve a bad actor physically entering the hospital to access data on an unsecured, for example, or a hacker testing your organization’s digital defenses.
For all of these reasons and more, healthcare organizations conduct regular cybersecurity analyses to identify and resolve security weaknesses as quickly as possible.

More Efficient Medical Coding Services

Efficient medical coding is the difference between good and bad healthcare organizations. Picture medical coding like the railroads and highways of a healthcare organization: when the infrastructure is smooth, efficient, and fast, it improves the entire organization.
Consulting services offer contract coding and coder quality reviews to improve the efficiency of an organization.
HMI Corp can make sure your organization has accurate coding for inpatient, outpatient, same-day surgeries, ancillary departments, and physician E/M, among other medical services. Medical coding and code reviews are performed by U.S.-based credentialed coding staff.

Improved Chargemaster Services

The chargemaster is the heart of a healthcare organization. Unfortunately, many healthcare organizations spend too little time maintaining their chargemaster.
Many organizations think they have compliant and accurate chargemaster services until it’s too late.
Over time, a lack of chargemaster maintenance leads to compliance issues, billing disruptions, and poorer patient care. Ultimately, it impacts the organization’s revenue.
Understandably, healthcare revenue cycle consulting services focus considerable attention on optimizing an organization’s chargemaster services. By fixing chargemaster issues today, the consulting service can implement real solutions that improve revenue generation.

Final Word

Major healthcare revenue cycle risks in 2019 include charge capture, coding, and denial management, among other issues.
By hiring a good healthcare revenue cycle consulting service today, you can identify these risks within your organization, then take action to limit their impact on revenue.

How Does Medical Coding Work? What Does a Medical Coder Do?

By
Digital Saiff, - Digital Lifestyle & Travel Tech Specialist
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0
Medical Coding

Medical coding is an in-demand profession at healthcare organizations across the country. Despite the surging demand for medical coders, however, many people do not understand how medical coding works.
Today, we’re explaining what medical coding is, how it works, and how a medical coder adds value to an organization.

What is Medical Coding?

Medical coding traces its origins all the way back 17th century recordkeeping in England. During this time, clinics kept crude records for each patient, using specific numbers and ‘codes’ to track the treatment received by each patient.
Today, the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) defines medical coding as, “the transformation of healthcare diagnosis, procedures, medical services and equipment into universal medical alphanumeric codes.”
In other words, medical coders translate important medical information into simple codes to document medical records and inform accurate medical billing.
Thanks to a standard coding system, medical records can be seamlessly transferred from one organization to another.

What Does a Medical Coder Do?

A medical coder is the individual responsible for translating a physician’s report into useful medical codes.
The coder will look at the physician’s report and determine the treatment that was provided to the patient. Then, the coder will translate all pertinent information into code. This code is used when referencing the treatment in the future and for billing purposes.
A medical coder’s job varies depending on the setting.
A medical coder working at a hospital will document and assign codes for each medical procedure received by a patient, for example.
A medical coder working for an insurance company, meanwhile, will verify the accuracy of incoming claims, checking to make sure the patient received treatment according to his or her insurance plan.
Some medical coders work remotely from home. Many medical coding jobs can easily be performed entirely over a computer and an internet connection, making the need for an on-site office irrelevant.

Why Do We Need Medical Coding?

Without medical coding, doctors would use common language to describe each patient’s treatment plan. That may sound good in theory. However, common language is too inexact to give an insurance company the accurate details it needs.
That’s why a specific set of codes has been developed to define medical procedures. The medical coder’s job is to translate common language into code so information can be efficiently transferred around a hospital and between organizations.

Where Do Medical Coders Work?

Medical coders can work in all types of healthcare organizations, but they can also work in a number of other settings, including all of the following:
• Hospitals and doctors’ offices
• Healthcare consulting services
• Educational institutions
• Home offices
• Insurance agencies
• Law firms
• Government agencies
Obviously, people expect to see medical coders in hospitals, clinics, and urgent care facilities. But many people are surprised to see medical coders in other settings as well – from home offices to law firms to insurance agencies.

What Kind of Training Do Medical Coders Go Through?

Some medical coders have bachelor’s degrees or master’s degrees. However, no formal education is required to be a medical coder.
Some technical colleges have introduced medical coding programs that teach coders the intricacies of the profession. These programs take one to two years.
Prospective coders will also seek specialized certifications – which are similar to the ‘graduate degrees’ of the coding world. Specialized certifications make a medical coding applicant stand out.
Popular specialty certifications include Certified Professional Coder (CPC0, Certified Outpatient Coder (COC), Certified Risk Adjustment Coder (CRC), and Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC).

Final Word

As the healthcare industry continues to grow, demand is increasing for medical coders. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects medical coding jobs to grow at a faster-than-average rate of 13% through 2026.
HMI Corp specializes in contract coding, including inpatient, outpatient, same-day surgeries, ancillary departments, and physician E/M.
All medical coding services are provided by credentialed coding staff based right here in the United States.

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