Paul Barr, MS, MBA

UMass Memorial Medical Center’s radiology department has been able to sidestep a lack of bill coding professionals by adopting AI in the medical center’s coding for radiology.   “It’s really hard to get certified coders these days,” said Barbara Scully, associate vice president, physician billing with UMass Memorial, which is located in Worcester, Massachusetts.   “It’s one…

Healthcare providers faced growing challenges last year in getting paid for care among patients covered by insurance, according to new benchmark data from Kodiak Solutions. And it was both insurers and patients who were lagging in payment or not paying at all. Denials of coverage by health plans, already a problem in 2023, increased during…

Updated April 4, 2025 Todd Nelson, chief partnership executive and director of healthcare finance policy for HFMA, was selected to receive the American Organization for Nursing Leadership’s Honorary Member Award. The award recognizes Nelson for his support of AONL’s mission and his contribution to advancing healthcare through AONL’s core business. AONL, an affiliate of the…

Some of the most interesting experiences to be had at HFMA’s 2025 Revenue Cycle Conference held March 19-21 in San Antonio could be found off the stage during snack and meal breaks. A conversation with a group of revenue cycle management (RCM) professionals really struck a chord in highlighting the dedication many of them apply…

Hospital industry is facing a potential crisis as demographic trends and hospital-bed capacity levels are expected to push the industry to dangerous levels of occupancy, potentially surpassing 85% by 2032, according to a research letter published by JAMA Network Open.

Amid expected growth in demand from patients to schedule their own clinic visits, an Arlington, Texas-based health system learned that in practice some patients want more than just the ability to go online to choose a visit time, date and provider. Officials for Texas Health Resources (THR) found that out while implementing a new self-scheduling…

Payers are increasingly rejecting claims through requests for information (RFI) that in total serve no purpose other than to delay reimbursement, according to “Death by a thousand requests,” a report from consulting firm Kodiak Solutions. RFI claim denial rates as a percentage of total billed charges climbed to 3.82% in 2024 through May, up from…

R1 RCM signed a definitive agreement to be acquired in full by funds affiliated with investment firms TowerBrook Capital Partners — currently a partial owner — and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for $8.9 billion including about $3 billion in debt. The deal values the revenue cycle management company at $14.30 per share, which would attach…

Especially after being on the front lines of the most impactful cyberattack to hit the healthcare industry, leaders with UnitedHealth Group (UHG) and Optum have plenty of thoughts on how stakeholders can shore up their defenses. UHG is the parent company and Optum a sister company of Change Healthcare, which was the target of a…

Rest and breaks from work should be viewed not as a reward, but as a resource that supports performance, Suneel Gupta, wellness CEO, best-selling author and visiting scholar with Harvard Medical School, told HFMA Annual Conference attendees during Tuesday’s keynote presentation in Las Vegas. “When we look at the science behind human performance, what we…