Feature Articles

91. 3 Keys To A Successful Healthcare Communication Platform 5/10/2017

    When it comes to healthcare communication, no single software application can meet every need. To achieve seamless care collaboration, you need a comprehensive healthcare communication platform that provides multiple applications. To manage complex business functions, many market sectors have been shifting to a software platform model. Some platforms even offer development tools that allow companies to create their own applications.

92. 3 Ways Smartphones Improve The ED Throughput Process 5/10/2017

    Many hospitals consider the Emergency Department (ED) as their hospital’s front door. Some patients arrive seeking treatment for a sports injury or a bee sting. Others are rushed in by ambulance, suffering from a potentially life-threatening event.

93. Physician Communication: 3 Key Elements To Secure Texting 5/10/2017

    A strong smartphone platform with secure texting lets physicians communicate with other healthcare providers without the inefficiencies of pagers and call-back loops. Be confident that your physicians are communicating securely inside and outside the hospital by choosing a smartphone solution that includes these three key elements.

94. Hierarchical Condition Categories Part 1: What's All The Buzz About? 5/4/2017

    There is quite a bit of discussion around Hierarchical Condition Categories (HCCs) these days. And for good reason: as the risk adjustment model used since 2004 to determine reimbursement for various Medicare plans, the HCC framework is progressively being applied to numerous healthcare reform initiatives. In this two-part series, we break down the basics of HCCs, why they matter and how all healthcare stakeholders should respond to them going forward.

95. Health Language And MediMobile Partner To Improve The Hospital Revenue Cycle 5/4/2017

    It’s no secret that reimbursement is increasingly complex for today’s hospitals and health systems. In truth, a fair amount of billing inaccuracies and missed charge capture has always been part of the bottom-line challenge. But today’s providers simply cannot afford to let any money slip through the cracks as they navigate new value-based care models and take on more risk.

96. How Better Postsurgical Pain Management Impacts The Hospital Bottom Line 4/24/2017

    On paper, opioids are inexpensive analgesics, so if all we are looking at is the cost of one medication over another, opioids will win nearly every time. But a look at their impact across the episode of care will tell a very different — and very costly — story. There are significant costs associated with treating opioid-related adverse events, such as urinary retention for example, which requires catheterization and often extends length of stay, but all too often, these costs go unnoticed because they do not align to the Pharmacy budget.

97. Adapt And Thrive With An Integrated Approach 4/20/2017

    Running a physician practice has never been easy, something that isn’t going to change any time soon. Today’s environment requires even more than clinical and business expertise — it demands adaptability. It involves building a long-term strategy to handle change.

98. The Evolution Of EMR, EHR, And Practice Management 4/18/2017

    Electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs) have been getting quite a lot of attention over the past several years. As technological advancements become more widespread, it only makes sense for the healthcare industry to begin embracing solutions that have the potential to make patient—and provider—lives better.

99. Optimize Pop Health Management For Patients With Serious Illnesses 4/11/2017

    A growing number of healthcare payers are seizing the opportunity to optimize their population health management (PHM) programs for seriously ill patients. By Greer Myers, President, Turn-Key Health

100. Overcoming The Complexity Of Customizable Data 3/3/2017

     EMR and other healthcare software applications must maintain dropdown lists of codes, which are regularly updated by the standard bodies. As a software vendor you need to ensure that you are monitoring for updates, analyzing each update to determine what actually changed, and then incorporating the updates and shipping updated code to all of your customers. In this blog, I discuss the challenge of managing codes and dropdown lists on your own, as opposed to using a terminology management solution to manage these frequent updates for you.