Hospital Payment Information Management Archives – March 1, 2003
March 1, 2003
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Revenue cycle management starts with scheduling, ends with appeals
Regardless of whether your hospital has embraced the methodology associated with the term revenue cycle management, chances are youve heard the words bandied about. -
Guest Column: Arbitration a viable option for handling payer denials
In October 2002, HCA in Nashville, TN, won an $8.8 million arbitration decision against Humana Medical Plan Inc. of Florida for the late payment or nonpayment of 3,300 patient accounts at 16 hospitals in Florida. -
2003 CPT codes affect several critical areas
The 2003 Physicians Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set released Dec. 31, 2002, contained over 500 additions, revisions, and deletions. Getting updated by April 1 is no easy task, but should be a priority, as mistakes could result in lost reimbursement, says coding expert Glenda Schuler, RHIT, CPC, CPC-H, senior health care consultant at Ingenix in Salt Lake City. -
Group therapy billing confusing for some
Start asking questions about the way Medicare wants physical and occupational therapists to code group vs. individual therapy, and youll get a plethora of contradictory answers and some heated opinions to boot. -
Remote coding offers practical alternative
Remote coders can be used to bridge the gap created by staffing shortages and fluctuating workloads, but its up to HIM managers to ensure that they follow the rules, says Betty Hatten, MHS, senior associate at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Dallas. -
Use benchmarking to improve performance
When considering opportunities to improve financial performance, benchmarking may not immediately come to mind, but health care managers who have used benchmarking techniques to enhance the fiscal well-being of their institutions have found it to be invaluable. -
DRG Coding Advisor: OPPS: The emergency department challenge
The Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) implemented on Aug. 1, 2000, was a significant turning point for hospitals, moving them from a cost-based reimbursement to a CPT-4 and HCPCS level II line item prospective payment methodology, referred to as Ambulatory Payment Classifications (APCs).