Joe Fifer: The courage to reframe healthcare to encompass ‘health’
Whether you’ve worked in this field for a day or a decade, when someone asks you what business you’re in, the answer is easy: Healthcare. And your meaning is clear. Imagine if you had answered, “health,” instead. Suddenly, that word raises more questions than it answers. Does the health business refer to fitness or nutrition,…
How investing in the workforce can improve a health system’s bottom line
The year 2022 will be remembered as one of the worst financial years on record for healthcare. It will also be recalled as the year when the anticipated workforce shortage moved from being just one of many strategic concerns for health system leaders to becoming their most critical and urgent challenge. The rapidity with which…
The impact of claims denials on the financial health of healthcare
While their hospitals and healthcare centers have long had to deal with claims denials, the number of denied claims continues to rise and payers are showing little inclination to help solve the problem, according to several roundtable participants.
Best practices for relieving unprecedented cost pressures facing healthcare providers
Due to labor cost increases, inflation, declining Medicare reimbursements and other reasons, health systems across the nation are feeling a new financial strain after the height of the pandemic.
Creating sound strategies to manage compensation and benefits regardless of where your employees reside
No doubt there are significant cultural and financial benefits to supporting continued remote and hybrid work in healthcare, particularly in billing/coding, call center, scheduling and administrative roles. Healthcare, however, faces specific challenges as they seek to demystify multi-state tax rules.
Aaron Crane: There’s real value to be found in exhibit halls
Workforce gaps, cost inflation and revenue cycle inefficiency are driving unprecedented pressure on margins, while our communities demand greater value. Today’s healthcare finance leaders are grappling with at least one ― if not all ― of these issues. And they’re looking for solutions. As I travel around the country to various HFMA regional and chapter…
Meeting healthcare’s workforce challenges requires innovation — with a dose of humanity
There is no low-hanging fruit left in workforce innovation. Yet hospital and health system finance executives who are looking for investments their organizations can make to reach higher up the tree should not be deterred. They can follow the lead of health systems that have already taken risk and reaped rewards — from taking an…
Automation from documentation capture to code: Insights from healthcare finance leaders
Read tips on strengthening return on investment and engagement as well as the role of process automation in navigating the documentation and workforce challenges facing healthcare in this roundtable with hospital leaders.
David Johnson: Why healthcare’s cupboard is bare — its funding gravy train has run out of steam
Gravy train is a railroad term that originated in the early 1900s. It described a well-paid train run that didn’t require much effort. In modern parlance, speakers use it to describe easy-to-do tasks and cushy situations. The problem with gravy trains is that riding them too long engenders lazy, sloppy and wasteful behaviors. New York…
How to determine appropriate patient status and navigate observation-level care
The financial implications of ensuring appropriate patient status throughout a hospital stay are substantial, so it is in organizations’ interest to enhance the process.