Monthly Archives: March 2011

Cost-Benefit Analysis of ICD-10

By Guest Blogger Angela Carmichael, HIM Product Development Specialist,  J.A. Thomas & Associates To upgrade to the latest and greatest version of anything, you must be prepared to pay a premium – and updating to ICD-10 will be no different. There … Continue reading

Posted in Clinical Documentation, Coding, ICD-10 | Tagged , , , ,

Value Based Purchasing Challenges Quality of Your Data

Value based purchasing (VBP) is slowly sinking in with hospitals.  The reality is that in FY 2013, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) will begin providing value-based incentive payments to hospitals based on 1) performance and 2) improvement … Continue reading

Posted in Clinical Documentation, Value Based Purchasing | Tagged , , ,

An “Ear to the Ground” Update – ACOs & Anesthesiology

I had the opportunity recently to speak with a group of anesthesiologists.  Our discussion which began with improving clinical documentation quickly evolved into a discussion of ACO deployment, bundled payment, and the implications for the practice of anesthesiology.  To achieve … Continue reading

Posted in Accountable Care Organizations, Bundled Payment, Clinical Documentation, Health Reform, Quality Measures | Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Coordination between ED physicians and hospitalists

I read with interest a new study conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) which addresses care coordination for patients treated in hospital emergency departments (EDs) – you can read about some of the survey findings below.  … Continue reading

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Natural Language Processing and HIMSS

By Guest Blogger, Brian Boyer, Director of Information Technology According to the 2011 Leadership Survey announced at HIMSS, meaningful use and the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act are the key impetus behind healthcare IT investments.  As I walked the floor … Continue reading

Posted in Clinical Documentation, Uncategorized | Tagged , , ,

HIMSS11 and Being Patient-Centric about the Data

This was my first visit to HIMSS and I must say, I was impressed.  31,000 attended the show and HIMSS had over 14,000 professional registrants. The Keynotes were likewise impressive:  From Dr. Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General, Office of the … Continue reading

Posted in Clinical Documentation, Health Reform, Patient Safety, Quality Measures | Tagged , , , , ,

Do you want a share of the savings from Accountable Care Organizations?

When one considers the title of the 2000 page Patient Protection and Accountable Care Act of 2010, the words “Accountable Care” stand out.  ACOs present perhaps the greatest opportunity for fundamental change in the delivery system articulated within the health … Continue reading

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