Hospital Access Management – January 1, 2007
January 1, 2007
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Technology increasingly important in effort to ensure correct patient ID
News reports in recent months tell of computers with data on Medicare and Medicaid patients being stolen from a health system's regional office and a former hospital worker charged with fraud and identity theft for accessing and selling patient files. -
Texas biometrics project targeted Medicaid program
A biometrics pilot project at Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital was virtually seamless in terms of staff training and patient participation and showed great potential for reducing fraud and enhancing customer service. -
ED, primary care clinic pilot program for uninsured
A pilot program under way in Tucson, AZ, aims to direct uninsured patients who show up for care in the hospital emergency department to a nearby primary and specialty care clinic where they can find an ongoing medical home, says Nancy Johnson, RN, PhD(c), executive director of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Clinic. -
Attorney: 'Rotation' referrals may compromise care
Patients' right to freedom of choice of providers has been a source of continuing conflict, especially between hospitals and post-acute providers not owned by or affiliated with hospitals -- so-called freestanding providers. -
Don't delay, hospitals told, in getting ready for NPIs
Failure to adequately prepare for the advent of the National Provider Identifier (NPI) will have a significant impact on provider reimbursement. -
Hospital UB-04 forms in use starting in March
While the impact of new hospital billing forms will be felt more by the business office than the front end, access personnel also should be aware of the change, since the information they collect feeds into the billing system. -
NY new regulations govern language assistance
The state of New York has taken a step toward ensuring consistency in the provision of language assistance services to hospital patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). -
Proposed discharge change less oppressive in final form
A potentially onerous hospital discharge rule proposed in April 2006 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is significantly less burdensome in its final form. -
News Briefs
Almost all hospitals support the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in moving forward with a pay-for-performance program over the next few years.