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In today's down economy, increasing upfront collections is even more important for patient access departments, but it's getting harder as many patients are struggling to make ends meet, at the same time that their copays, deductibles, and co-insurances are becoming more expensive.
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ED managers have tried several options to offset growing volume, but Bret Nicks, MD, assistant medical director at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, says the hybrid observation unit he oversees beats other alternatives.
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Eight EDs in the Canadian Province of Ontario have benefitted from government funding in the hiring of geriatric emergency management (GEM) nurses.
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Geriatric emergency management (GEM) nurses at Toronto's Humber River Regional Hospital (HRHH) use a strict set of criteria when assessing elderly patients in the ED and determining if they are "high-risk" patients.
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Several EDs in the Canadian Province of Ontario have significantly improved their care for elderly patients with the introduction of a new position called the geriatric emergency management (GEM) nurse.
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ED managers, hospital leaders, emergency medicine, and hospital organizations breathed a sigh of relief on Oct. 24, 2008, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a memorandum that clarified the use of standing orders in hospitals.
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The Greater Dayton (OH) Area Health Information Network (GDAHIN) was established in 1998, but local EDs have not been benefitting from the network for the entire 10 years; in fact, it was turned off in 2003.
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A new pilot program that allows EDs and health care systems across Milwaukee to share patient information is expected to save thousands of dollars by eliminating redundant testing, while improving patient care.
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If someone told you that an ED had experienced a 60% increase in volume between 2000 and 2008, you wouldn't be surprised to learn that the average length of stay (LOS) for their patients also had increased dramatically.
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As part of its Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) payment rule for 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has established a multiple imaging composite methodology, which means it will provide a single composite ambulatory payment classification (APC) payment each time a hospital bills more than one procedure from an imaging "family" on a single date of service. The families are:
