Health Informatics News |
- MGMA: Medical Practice Revenues Fell in 2008
- Nebraska Hospital Deploys Solution to Achieve Meaningful Use
- AHIMA Unveils Bill of Rights to Protect Patient Data
- Dashboard Patient Classification System Released
| MGMA: Medical Practice Revenues Fell in 2008 Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:36 AM PDT Medical practice revenues have declined for the first time in several years, according to data from a Medical Group Management Association (MGMA, Englewood, Colo.) survey, which reported a 1.9 percent decrease in total medical revenue in 2008. The drop, says MGMA, may be tied to smaller patient volumes and increasing bad debt due to patients’ financial hardship. The group reported a 9.9 percent drop in the number of procedures and an 11.3 percent slump in the number of patients from 2006 to 2008. Bad debt in multispecialty group practices from fee-for-service charges increased 13 percent from 2006 to 2008, it says. MGMA data also indicate that total operating cost increased 54 percent in multispecialty group practices in the past 10 years, while total medical revenue increased 46 percent. Overall cost increases were due to a variety of factors, including increases in drug supply costs, support staff costs and professional liability fees. The survey found that multispecialty practices reduced their overhead expenses 1.4 percent in 2008, largely by cutting support staff costs by 1.5 percent — the first decline in several years. For more information on the survey, visit MGMA’s Web site . |
| Nebraska Hospital Deploys Solution to Achieve Meaningful Use Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:34 AM PDT Thayer County Health Services (TCHS), a critical access hospital located in Hebron, Neb., is implementing Mirth Meaningful Use Exchange (Mirth MUx) from Irvine, Calif.-based Mirth Corporation . The company claims Mirth MUx can expedite the achievement of proposed meaningful use criteria necessary to collect incentive payments for EHR implementation. The solution enables healthcare organizations to securely exchange clinical information either directly or via the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) using the open source NHIN CONNECT solution. It is designed to support standards such as HL7 and the Continuity of Care Document, it says. For Thayer, deploying Mirth MUx represents a critical step in its plan to achieve stage 7 in the HIMSS Analytics ratings, says the company. Serving Thayer County and surrounding communities, TCHS is comprised of a 19-bed critical access hospital and clinic in Hebron, and five satellite clinics in Bruning, Chester, Davenport, Deshler and Milligan. |
| AHIMA Unveils Bill of Rights to Protect Patient Data Posted: 06 Oct 2009 10:31 AM PDT The Chicago-based American Health Information Management Association has established a Health Information Bill of Rights as a model for protecting patient health information. The Bill is comprised of seven protections that were made necessary by the many patient data breaches that have occurred recently, says AHIMA. The protections focus on guaranteeing healthcare consumers free access to health data during the course of treatment and creating a standard for health information that is “accurate and as complete as possible.” Other protections revolve around the patient’s right to know who accesses and updates their health data, and the need for healthcare professionals to be held accountable for any violations of privacy and security laws. For more information, visit AHIMA’s Web site . |
| Dashboard Patient Classification System Released Posted: 05 Oct 2009 10:45 AM PDT Hartford, Wis.-based API Healthcare unveiled its Acuality Patient Classification System, which allows hospitals to quickly assess patient care requirements and make appropriate future staffing assignments based on patient acuity levels, it says. The solution is integrated with the company’s own suite of human capital management solutions and analyzes each department’s clinical workload. Based on patient needs, the classification system identifies the most effective combination of staff credentials and skill mix for the upcoming shift, API says. The staffing recommendations are sent directly to the company’s ActiveStaffer system for nurse managers. When formulating patient acuity, Acuality takes eight categories of patient needs into account, including: cognitive, self-care and comfort/pain. |
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