The Business of Surgery

Medical Device Makers to Partner With Hospitals to Achieve Triple Aim

August 30, 2017 / Hospital Management, Supply Chain, The Business of Surgery /

As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announce the expanded rollout of the bundled payment programs, including the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program, medical device makers are seeing an opportunity to expand their relationships with hospitals.  Johnson & Johnson, for example, recently announced its CareAdvantage program that aims to partner with […]

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Data and the Healthcare Triple Aim

August 30, 2017 / Big Data, Hospital IT, Hospital Management, The Business of Surgery /

More hospitals are using the Triple Aim framework as a systematic approach to thinking about value. The Triple Aim framework from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement is designed to help hospitals optimize performance by focusing on three dimensions: Population Health, Experience of Care and Per Capita Cost. As hospitals dig deeper into the framework, they

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How Hospitals Can Drive More Value From Data Analytics

August 30, 2017 / Big Data, Cath Lab, Hospital Finance, Hospital IT, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Operational Efficiency, Radiology, The Business of Surgery /

As adoption of EMRs at hospitals reaches saturation, hospitals and health systems are now trying to figure out how to make the most of the vast amounts of data being collected by their information systems. Focusing on data analytics in the perioperative setting can drive significant value for a hospital, given the large share of

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Opposition to Medicare Bundles is Growing

August 30, 2017 / Cath Lab, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, The Business of Surgery /

On December 20, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the roll out of the Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), the Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG), and the Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) incentive payment models. With these programs scheduled to go live in July 2017, they will join expanded Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement

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How Hospitals Can Prepare For The Coming Wave Of Bundled Payments

August 30, 2017 / Cath Lab, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, The Business of Surgery /

In December 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized regulations regarding the Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) Incentive Payment Model. This new bundled payment program affects over 1,100 hospitals nationwide and how they are paid for their heart attack and bypass surgery cases. The goal of this program, which has joined the orthopedic bundling

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Outsourcing of Complex Claims on the Upswing

August 30, 2017 / Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Revenue Cycle, The Business of Surgery /

An increasing number of hospitals are turning to outsourced providers of complex claims management to help manage their hardest to collect dollars. The number of complex claims outsourced to specialists reached 39.8% in the 3rd quarter of 2016 – up from 20.4% in 2014. These complex claims typically take up an outsized portion of in-house

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How One Hospital Uses Advanced Analytics to Drive Savings and Improve Outcomes

August 30, 2017 / Big Data, Cath Lab, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital IT, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Radiology, The Business of Surgery /

Geisinger Health System, a leading health system in Eastern Pennsylvania, has begun realizing tremendous benefits from a data analytics program established in 2015. The hospital’s Unified Data Architecture (UDA) collects and stores data from electronic medical records and other data sources to provide a holistic view of a patient’s health. Benefits of the UDA so

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OIG Audit of Abbott Northwestern Hospital Turns Up $8 Million in Medicare Overpayments

August 30, 2017 / Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Regulatory Compliance, Revenue Cycle, The Business of Surgery /

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently released the report of its findings from an audit conducted at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, MN.  Based on a review of 162 claims from 2013 and 2014, the OIG found a potential of $933,991 in over payments.  Extrapolated over the 2-year

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How Physician Feedback Can Save Millions In Your OR

August 30, 2017 / Big Data, Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Operational Efficiency, The Business of Surgery /

Putting surgeons in the know regarding their OR spend can help hospitals reduce costs drastically. This is the main finding from a study published in JAMA Surgery by a study team at the University of California, San Francisco. A test group of surgeons who received monthly feedback on their OR costs reduced their spend by

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How Operating Rooms Are Throwing Millions of Dollars Away Each Year

August 30, 2017 / Cost Reduction, Hospital Finance, Hospital Management, Operating Rooms, Supply Chain, The Business of Surgery /

Disposable medical supplies are responsible for over 2,000 tons of physical waste per day, and they are making a huge impact on OR profits. A recent study by University of California, San Francisco noted that an average of nearly $1,000 of disposable medical supplies per procedure were wasted in their neurosurgical department. This equated to

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