A simple break-even calculation turns a reimbursement advantage into staff minutes, showing practices when prior authorization, denials and uncollected patient balances wipe out a better rate.
|Articles|June 25, 2011
Health information technology pilot programs struggle with costs
Federal pilot programs established to use health information technology to improve patient care and reduce costs are having a hard time meeting the latter goal.
Advertisement
Federal pilot programs established to use health information technology (HIT) to improve patient care and reduce costs are having a hard time meeting the latter goal.
Last year the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) kicked off the Beacon Communities program, which gave federal funds to 17 healthcare communities to develop secure electronic health record and health information exchange systems.
At a recent event marking the effort's 1-year anniversary, several Beacon Communities representatives said they have been unable to sort through and integrate patient data fast enough to affect patient care and reduce costs.
Advertisement
Related to this article
Medical Economics spoke with health care attorney Tatiana Melnik, J.D., about vendor contracts, patient consent and the malpractice questions physicians could face next.
How long before every doctor has an artificial intelligence stunt double?
The Illinois College of Osteopathic Medicine at The Chicago School welcomed its first class of 91 students in July, with mental health built into all four years of training. Medical Economics spoke with John Lucas, D.O., and Michele Nealon, Psy.D., about whole-person care, burnout and the stigma physicians face in seeking help.
CMS' proposed cuts to physician fees focus on the operating room. For the primary care physicians managing recovery after surgery, the real gap is much larger.
Health care was the only one of five sectors to cut spending commitments this spring, falling 2.8% as hospitals faced rising supply costs and physicians awaited the final 2027 Medicare fee schedule, Coupa's Business Spend Index found.
It's shared savings season and the check has arrived. Now how do physicians divide it up fairly?
Advertisement
Advertisement
Trending on Medical Economics
1
How Chicago's first new medical school in nearly a century is training doctors to treat mental and physical health together
2
Russian lab worker's death sparks plague fears; Utah lets AI write first-time prescriptions; FTC warns 24 health systems on hidden prices — Morning Medical Update Weekly Recap
3
Can a safety prompt make AI safer for clinical decisions? Study says yes, partly
4
Why is healthcare spending declining in 2026?
5