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Patient Access Weekly Advisor

PAWA offers best-practice tips from access professionals across the country who have found success with innovative approaches to problems. PAWA will also include a timely news brief to help you fine-tune processes and develop solutions for ongoing problems, such as collecting more money upfront and determining deductibles on high-deductible health plans.

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Patient Access Weekly Advisor

Issue 25, June 27, 2012

• Last issue of Patient Access Weekly Advisor

  HCPro is sorry to report that this is the last issue of Patient Access Weekly Advisor. We thank you...

• Coming soon: Recovery auditor prepayment reviews

  Last November, CMS unveiled three demonstration projects aimed at reducing improper payments in the...

• HCPro Watchdog Service

  Providers and payers alike have to stay on top of a regulatory environment that is constantly...

Issue 24, June 20, 2012

• Second to last issue of Patient Access Weekly Advisor

  HCPro is sorry to report that this is the second to last issue of Patient Access Weekly Advisor. We...

• CMS publishes improper payment figures and appeals statistics

  In the last month, CMS posted two separate sets of data that provide nationwide statistics on its...

Issue 23, June 13, 2012

• First of 2012: CMS announces supervision decisions for select services

  In the 2012 outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) final rule, CMS established a process to...

• Reader submission: Patient survey tips

  Send your thoughts to Associate Editor James Carroll at jcarroll@hcpro.com. And you could be...

• Bounce ideas off your colleagues

  Want to talk to your patient access peers?

Issue 22, June 6, 2012

• CMS announces supervision levels for select services

  Editor’s note: Debbie Mackaman, RHIA, CHCO, regulatory specialist for HCPro, Inc., is the...

• 2012 patient access goals

  Survive a recent audit? Handle a crisis effectively and efficiently?

Issue 21, May 30, 2012

• New CoP addresses patient self-administration of medications

  CMS put on display two rules on May 9 designed to reduce the regulatory burden on providers and...

Issue 20, May 23, 2012

• CMS identifies CERT, Recovery Auditor findings in latest quarterly compliance newsletter

  Last month CMS released the seventh issue of its Medicare Quarterly Provider Compliance Newsletter...

Issue 19, May 16, 2012

• Recent OIG reports show critique on CMS’ processes and programs

  During the past few months, there have been a number of Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports...

Issue 18, May 9, 2012

• Hospital ED wait times reveal huge variations

  Hospital leaders who believe their emergency room patients' wait times compare well with...

Issue 17, May 2, 2012

• CMS issues minor edits to ABN instructions form

  On April 19, CMS issued an update stating that minor edits have been made in the ABN...

Issue 16, April 25, 2012

• Recovery auditor hot topics: Audit MICs struggling to identify overpayments

  On March 20, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report that presents an early...

Issue 15, April 18, 2012

• Data breach update: 780,000 affected in Utah data breach

  The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) released an update April 9 regarding a data breach caused by...

• CMS provides additional guidance on proper billing when the Medicare Secondary Payer Rules apply

  In a recent Special Edition MLN Matters Article (SE1217), CMS reminded providers of their...

Issue 14, April 11, 2012

• HHS proposes one-year delay of ICD-10-CM/PCS

  HHS released a proposed rule April 9 announcing a one-year delay of the implementation of...

• HHS issues Affordable Insurance Exchanges final rule

  On March 27, HHS issued a final rule in the Federal Register that implements the new Affordable...

• Data breach in Utah compromises thousands of Medicaid claims

  The Utah Department of Technology Services (DTS) reported March 30 a patient information breach...

Issue 13, April 4, 2012

• HHS issues Affordable Insurance Exchanges final rule

  On March 27, HHS issued a final rule in the Federal Register that implements the new Affordable...

Issue 11, March 21, 2012

• CMS targets April for release of new ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation date

  CMS expects to release a new ICD-10-CM/PCS implementation date sometime in April. That date will...

• HIPAA Q&A: Notice of Privacy Practices

  Q. Is there a need to keep the acknowledgment form when we provide a Notice of Privacy Practices...

• Experts: Lack of HIPAA basics cost BCBST $18.5 million

  HIPAA compliance 101—policies, training, monitoring, and risk assessments—might have...

Issue 10, March 14, 2012

• Q&A with Debbie Mackaman: Recovery auditors and more

  What type of impact do you think the newly announced demonstration project for recovery auditor...

• New! Revenue Cycle Institute releases 2011 Recovery Auditor Benchmarking Report

  The Revenue Cycle Institute has released a new white paper

Issue 9, March 7, 2012

• Medicare patients given fewer treatment options

  More than one-third of Medicare patients who underwent a prostatectomy, and 90% who had elective...

Issue 8, February 29, 2012

• Hospital includes parents in hiring process

  Nemours' brand new Children's Hospital in Orlando won't open until October, but the pediatric...

Issue 7, February 22, 2012

• HHS confirms ICD-10 delay

  It’s no longer a mere possibility; HHS has confirmed its intent to delay the ICD-10...

Issue 5, February 1, 2012

• CMS innovation advisors aim to improve quality of care

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has tapped 73 healthcare professionals for its...

• Outpatient move saves hospital

  In Aledo, IL, a town of 3,600 tucked in the northwest corner of the state near Iowa, it was a move...

Issue 4, January 25, 2012

• Medicare cuts could slash 278K hospital jobs, warns AHA

  Medicare funding cuts under consideration by Congress could cost the nation's hospitals $61.4...

Issue 3, January 18, 2012

• Spectrum Health targets ED frequent fliers for primary care

  A new program at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, MI is identifying "frequent fliers" at...