Healthcare

How Can We Prevent Out-of-Network Use in In-Network Hospitals?

Everything should have gone according to plan. Weeks before an expected surgery, the patient had taken the time to make sure that his hospital was in-network and that his out-of-pocket cost would be within his tight budget. He had set aside the money, taken off time for recovery, and prepared for his surgery. He felt [...]

By |2020-02-07T16:37:52+00:00February 7th, 2020|Blog|Comments Off on How Can We Prevent Out-of-Network Use in In-Network Hospitals?

Will Value-Based Care Require New Leadership Strategies?

Will value-based healthcare be the answer to America’s medical woes? A significant subset of providers seem to think so. According to a recent survey of the NEJM Catalyst Insights Council, 42% of participants believe that value-based reimbursement models will one day supplant fee-for-service as the primary revenue model for healthcare in the United States.    [...]

By |2020-11-19T14:45:06+00:00December 2nd, 2019|Blog|Comments Off on Will Value-Based Care Require New Leadership Strategies?

FCC Rural Telemedicine Update: Improving Care for Patients?

Positive change may be on the horizon for patients who use -- or even rely on -- telehealth services. Earlier this month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced its intent to overhaul its method for distributing telemedicine-adjacent funds through the Rural Health Care Program in a way that eliminates any current wasteful practices or inefficiencies.  [...]

By |2019-08-26T19:48:43+00:00August 26th, 2019|Blog|Comments Off on FCC Rural Telemedicine Update: Improving Care for Patients?

Benefits of Hospice Care

When patients enter the dusk of their sunset years, they need peace, support, and care. It can be a trying time for patients and family alike -- but with hospice, the burden weighs a little easier. According to one report published in the BMJ’s Supportive and Palliative Care, patients who enroll in hospice during their [...]

By |2019-07-25T20:51:56+00:00July 25th, 2019|Blog|Comments Off on Benefits of Hospice Care

Co-Pay Accumulators Are on the Chopping Block — Here’s Why

Copay accumulators aren’t welcome in Virginia. As of this March, state legislators in both the state and its neighbor, West Virginia, passed legislation that requires insurers to count copay assistance cards and manufacturer-provided coupons towards patients’ out-of-pocket limits. This measure comes in direct response to insurers’ increased tendency to use the policies to prevent payment [...]

By |2020-11-19T14:39:19+00:00May 17th, 2019|Blog|Comments Off on Co-Pay Accumulators Are on the Chopping Block — Here’s Why

Emergency Treatment Isn’t a Long-Term Solution for Chronic Care Needs

Emergency care centers are intended to handle crisis cases -- but in practice, more patients walk in with primary care concerns than critical conditions. According to statistics provided by the Center for Disease Control, a full 32% of ER consults last for less than 15 minutes, and only 7.9% result in hospital admission. These numbers [...]

By |2021-06-28T14:58:34+00:00April 3rd, 2019|Blog|Comments Off on Emergency Treatment Isn’t a Long-Term Solution for Chronic Care Needs

We Can Overcome Hurdles in Telehealth Implementation

Telemedicine is an inarguable boon to modern care. By complementing traditional in-practice services with telemedical offerings, healthcare providers can extend specialty consults into the most remote rural clinics, cut down on the time patients wait for care, and even reach those who might have otherwise foregone the time and expense of in-person care.   The [...]

By |2019-02-12T20:55:04+00:00February 12th, 2019|Blog|Comments Off on We Can Overcome Hurdles in Telehealth Implementation

Is the Future of Healthcare Outpatient-Centric?

Hospitals might once have been the treatment hub for all of a communities’ aches, pains, and surgical procedures -- but that central status is becoming hazier by the day. In the last few years, increasing pressure to make health services more affordable, accessible, and effective has prompted many healthcare organizations to decompress their campuses and [...]

By |2021-12-21T15:28:30+00:00January 28th, 2019|Uncategorized|Comments Off on Is the Future of Healthcare Outpatient-Centric?

Work Smarter, Not Harder: Balancing Efficiency and Value in Healthcare

When it comes to healthcare delivery, our intent is to be ever quicker, more effective, and less expensive. We want to improve treatment experiences and patient outcomes without slipping on our efficiency scores; we aim to provide ever-soaring value for our providers, payers, and patients, but we don’t want to stop cutting costs. When those [...]

By |2018-12-21T16:16:02+00:00January 3rd, 2019|Blog|Comments Off on Work Smarter, Not Harder: Balancing Efficiency and Value in Healthcare

Balance Billing: A Money Trap for Patients and Providers Alike?

A physician's first priority is to help those they see in need of medical attention. So, when a doctor working the night shift sees a EMTs rolling a bloodied car accident victim into the emergency room on a gurney, she doesn't hesitate; she immediately crosses the room to treat her new patient. At that moment, [...]

By |2020-06-16T15:38:59+00:00December 21st, 2018|Blog|Comments Off on Balance Billing: A Money Trap for Patients and Providers Alike?