ICD-10's top 10 head-scratchers

The hassle of adopting ICD-10 has only just begun for some - others might imply that they’ve been waiting for it for years, having started preparations many moons ago. While I’m sure any medical coder would tell you that they have a list of crucial and obvious missing codes, some of them seem a little odd to me.[read more]

Massachusetts / shutterstock

Like many, I’ve been surprised that the rollout of the Affordable Care Act has had such an impact on Massachusetts. But somehow Massachusetts screwed up the rollout of the Obamacare exchange, which is costing $100 million to fix, and at least some Massachusetts small businesses are getting hit with big rate hikes as they renew.[read more]

Denied claims, long arguments, an eternity spent on hold arguing over a bill? Yes. But! Sometimes there are happy endings in the conversation with the billing office and the insurer. As deductibles and co-insurance rise, it’s more important than ever to know how to explore whether that bill is right or that statement is right.[read more]

Navigating the hospital

Marketers work hard to present an image of hospitals that patients can rely upon when they actually walk through the door. A hospital that is difficult to navigate, however, can instantly tarnish years of hospital branding. That is why some hospitals are making an effort to re-think the way their building is navigated in order to improve the patient experience.[read more]

Is Big Data going too far?

Carolinas, which covers as many as 900 medical centers in North and South Carolina, has been using an algorithm that takes into account the consumer data of over 2 million people and identifies patients who could be high risk – based on their consumer behaviors. Is Big Data going too far?[read more]

FDA

Last month, the FDA released draft guidance on social media and internet platforms with character space limitations and a separate draft guidance for correcting misinformation posted online. I discussed these guidance documents with Kathi Browne in a Google+ Hangout on Air.[read more]

Radiology payment changes

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2014 hospital outpatient prospective payment system updates late last year. Unfortunately for radiology professionals, there was a decrease in many different kinds of imaging procedures that will have an economic impact on the field.[read more]

Demand for doctors is on the rise

An article in Becker’s Hospital Review caught my attention, because of what it portends for the careers of physicians and health IT workers. The article, 10 Concerns and Trends Facing Hospitals Right Now, is a terrific synopsis of everything a hospital CEO should be focused on these days if he or she wants his or her hospital to survive.[read more]

Fibrin sealants represented a revolution in local hemostatic measures for both bleeding and nonbleeding disorders. Fibrin sealant has the potential to provide life-saving control of excessive bleeding in many critical surgical operations and during a number of elective procedures.[read more]

Hadoop to the rescue?

One of the biggest challenges that our information-driven healthcare industry faces is the fact that data is growing faster than healthcare organizations can consume it. 80% of medical data is unstructured, yet clinically relevant. The Big Data solution could be Hadoop and the Enterprise Data Hub.[read more]

photo: nffcnnr via photopin cc

Since Medicaid pays doctors and hospitals 27 to 65 percent less than commercial health plans, it makes it awfully difficult for providers to be payer agnostic. Sure enough, we see even supposedly mission-driven non-profit healthcare systems looking to maximize their share of the commercial population by catering to that group.[read more]

digital marketing

Running a private practice is a business, just like any other, and marketing is a key part of creating a connection not only with potential patients, but also with networking partners and collaborates. Consider some ways a physician can leverage online tools to expand his or her reach.[read more]