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User-friendly system takes error tracking to new heights

CBO staff examine every question on the face sheet A process that tracks every registration for errors and corrects them before the bill drops has improved accuracy dramatically, reduced accounts receivable (AR) days, and boosted staff morale at Catholic Health West (CHW) hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area. Facilitating that effort, says Barbara Griffin, director of patient financial services for CHW Bay Area, is an admitting error tracking system (AETS) from Burbank, CA-based RISARC that allows central business office (CBO) staff to look at registration face sheets on-screen.

Staff-designed calculator gives instant copay totals

OTC collections increase A Patient Responsibility Calculator (PRC) dreamed up by an admitting supervisor and brought to fruition by an employee in the reimbursement department enables staff at Sonora (CA) Regional Medical Center to quickly calculate copay amounts and let patients know how much they owe before the service is performed.

Program offers funds for undocumented aliens’ care

Heres what providers should know By Loren Ratner, Nixon Peabody LLP Garden City, NY The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is preparing to implement a new program that will provide funding for emergency health services received by undocumented aliens. This represents the first time federal funding will be available to hospitals and other providers for services they are required to provide to undocumented aliens under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).

Is it redundant to have DPs in addition to CMs?

Professionals talk semantics Are the terms discharge planning and case management interchangeable, or are they distinct, and is there a place for both in todays health care environment?

Ensure your patients are placed in the right status

ED and outpatient surgery key targets Hospitals tread a fine line when it comes to placing patients in observation status. If patients dont meet criteria for observation, your claim probably will be denied.

HIPAA privacy rule doesn’t trump state law

Provider can disclose to P&A A health care provider covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) may disclose an individuals protected health information (PHI) to a state-designated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) system without that individuals authorization, as the disclosure is required by law and complies with the laws requirements.

JCAHO standard targets patients’ language needs

Safety of care at issue? Hospitals will be required by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), beginning in January 2006, to document each patients language and communication needs in the medical record.

Hospital criminal liability examined in DOJ opinion

Hospitals covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) may be prosecuted for criminal violations under the act, according to a recent opinion requested by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel.

News Briefs

UB-04 form will be required in 2007; NPI transition plan announced by CMS

Hospital Access Management – August 1, 2005

August 1, 2005