About Timely Medical Alternatives; Inc

Posted on May 30, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Understanding Canadian Health System Alternatives

By Staff Reporters

ObamaIn 2003, Timely Medical Alternatives Inc. was formed to help Canadians, on long medical waiting lists, to take personal responsibility for their own medical care and “Leave the queue” [the national healthcare system waiting-list].

Urgent Need

According to their website, the need for private medical services is thriving in Canada. The mission of Timely Medical Alternatives [TMA] is to accommodate Canadian’s needs for private medical services by providing them with options, referrals to hospitals, clinics and diagnostic imaging facilities.

Link: http://www.timelymedical.ca

Assessment

Timely Medical Alternatives, a PPO, says it is able to expedite most types of private medical services from diagnostics to virtually all types of surgery, including procedures not available within the Canadian healthcare system. Wait times for clients are measured in days rather than in months or years.

Link: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Sicko Alternative

The movie documentary Sicko was directed by Michael Moore in 2007. It compared the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories

Link: www.michaelmoore.com

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Please compare and contrast TMA to “Sicko”, our current domestic health system, and the Obama administration’s vision of national healthcare for the US; and opine .Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, be sure to subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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Beware the Faux Medical Journals

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

When is a “Journal” … not a Journal?

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

Publisher-in-Chiefdem23

Allow me to begin this post by making the unusual disclosure that I was the Editor-in-Chief of a print guide in healthcare finance and economics [aka periodical or journal].

Formally, the title was: Healthcare Organizations [Financial Management Strategies]. At 2 volumes, and more than 1,200 pages, it was quite a job to update it quarterly. And, with more than two dozen contributing authors, it was a labor of love indeed. Alas … no more!

ho-journal9

Varying Levels of Credibility

Now, we doctors know that medical journals are not all alike. There are different levels of “credibility.” Some are peer-reviewed, others not. Some are trade magazines. Frankly, some “real” journals are better, and more respected than others. Some entrenched journals are in decline, while other emerging journals are leading-edge in the health 2.0 space. Still others, like the formerly esteemed Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA], have been accused of outright censorship.

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/is-jama-censoring-physician-dissent/

Adventures

Of course, doctors also know that pharmaceutical companies routinely offer us reprints of articles from medical journals that are favorable to their products. But, news of a Merck-sponsored publication for doctors in Australia has come to light in a personal injury lawsuit over Vioxx. It raised more than a few eyebrows in international medical publishing circles. It may have even crossed the line of journalistic, not to mention medical, ethics.

Read: Merck Paid for Medical ‘Journal’ Without Disclosure; by Natasha Singer, May 13, 2009.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/business/14vioxxside.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1242313549-xaAEwW4MCd7pJh9OdgWdUQ

Mis-Adverntures

Tracy Staton wrote more about these mis-adventures in a story, dated May 14, 2009, in FiercePharma.

Analysis and Apology

Analysis in the Pipeline: http://seekingalpha.com/article/136942-merck-and-elsevier-cross-the-line-in-joint-medical-journal?source=yahoo

Libology Mea Culpa: http://www.libology.com/blog/tag/excerpta-medica

Assessment

Perhaps; Merck ought to read our Medical-Executive Post on health journalists?

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/battered-health-journalists

Or, our Medical-Executive Post on medical experts, reporters and journalists?

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/healthcare-experts-versus-health-journalists

Conclusion

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Economic Facts your Dentist Doesn’t Want You to Know

Posted on May 25, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Some Office Visit Schedules Linked to Insurance Payment

By D. Kellus Pruitt; DDS

 http://thebulletin.us/articles/2009/05/21/herb_denenberg/doc4a15404e56e5f308210565.txt

pruitt

Here is the link to an article written by Herb Denenberg titled: “Some Facts Your Dentist Doesn’t Want You to Know”.  In it, he shared with his readers some information about dentistry that is hard to find. I submitted the following comment.

Dear Herb Denenberg,

Yours was a great article, and as a dentist with 27 years in a comfortable practice and 32 years in an expensive marriage, I find your cost-saving points oh so painfully accurate. Nevertheless, I must honestly agree that not only can some patients safely go a year or more between check-ups (ouch!), but many don’t need bitewing x-rays every year either (Good thing neither my patients nor my wife read the stuff I write).

Of BiteWing X-Rays

Readers who are hopefully from places other than the east side of Fort Worth can easily understand that the more treatment and x-rays I recommend, the more money I make. I must honestly add that my devoted and trusting dental patients, like most Fort Worth dentists’ patients, are reliably willing to accept my recommendations for these kinds of procedures without questioning the need. Let me put it this way: Annual bitewings are an easy $56 sale, mostly because fee-for-service insurance pays for them at 100% anyway. (If an angry dentist should ask who told you that, it wasn’t me). That is why it should not be taken lightly my approval of the advice about dentistry published in the book “1,001 Things They Won’t Tell You.” And; they won’t, sometimes.

Ethics and EBD

True to ethics I learned at the University of Texas dental school, in San Antonio (UTHSC), in the last six months, my hygienists and I have been determining which patients are safe to go a year and a half without routine bitewing x-rays. They are commonly taken every year simply because it has always been that way, and that interval was adopted as the minimum time most insurers allow. As readers can see, not a hint of Evidence-Based Dentistry [EBD] was involved in that determination. It was just a 1950’s guess.

Extended Prophylactic Schedules 

This week we found four candidates in our practice for extended schedules. Our honesty will save these patients (their insurance companies) money by eliminating unnecessary care. And I really, really hate saving insurance companies money, on principle alone.

In My DefenseGnome

In my defense of continuing to maintain a large number of my patients on 6 month prophys and 12 month x-rays – and with the hope of restraining local dentists from throwing rocks through my windows – let me say up front that most people still need the old-school schedule in order to prevent disease. And, a few of the more fragile cases need x-rays and cleanings even more often than insurance allows.

Assessment 

My patients and I are fortunate that I can freely charge the prices I deem necessary in order to put my patients’ interests above my wife’s. Let’s face it. Ethics are invisible to dental patients and they are not free. Ethics are a precious courtesy that dentists who accept managed care insurance find themselves forced to eliminate because contracts prevent them from raising fees as the market demands. Managed care dentistry is dentistry by the lowest bidder with no quality control. I only wish that someone would have pointed out that chunk of information in the book. Now, I’d better have my wife go ahead and start my car in the morning when she grabs the paper.

Conclusion

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Health Care Costs and the Domestic Budget

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

The Real Budget Defecit

[By Staff Reporters]

money1The Obama Administration has made comprehensive health insurance, and health care, reform a priority.

The goal is to transform the domestic health-care system so that it improves efficiencies, increases value and provides care for all citizens.

Current Situation

Recently, two important facts that all ME-P readers know, were re-confirmed:

  • Health-care costs are the key to the nation’s economic future.
  • The medical community agrees that great efficiencies are possible in how it is practiced.

Variations

It is well known that health-care costs vary across significant regions of the country, as well as hospitals and doctors within a region – even for patients with a same/similar diagnosis. This must end, according to the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget [OMB]. Director Peter R. Orszag explained in a WSJ interview below, that practice variation is unnecessary and wasteful, and that evidence-based-medical practices and comparative-effectiveness-research is a good idea for all healthcare stakeholders.

The Baucus-Grassley Policy Options for Expanding Healthcare Coverage report is also included for your review and commentary.

Two New Reports

Wall Street Journal on May 15, 2009.

1. Link http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124234365947221489.html

2. Link: http://finance.senate.gov/press/Bpress/2009press/prb051109.pdf

Assessment

Once accomplished, it is hope that the nation will be on a sustainable fiscal path that builds a new foundation for our economy for generations to come.

Conclusion

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Physician [Fee] Schedule Augmentation

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Organizing and Analyzing Financial Data

[By Christy Clodwick; MHA]

biz-book1After all medical practice management data has been gathered, organize it onto a spreadsheet or chart.  This analysis report will help to determine the codes and/or health plans that should be targeted for process improvement.

Focus … Focus … Focus

The focus should be on the highest volume and dollar value codes. Does this mean patients with unusual conditions or low dollar value codes are not treated? Hopefully it will not; but it will push this process forward and the practice will see the greatest benefit from these categories. When you review the report and find that a fee is being paid at a much lower rate, this would be indicative of a necessary negotiation with the payer for an increase for that procedure. Most health plans are committed to preventing disease. Maybe, but they are still actually aimed at treating diseases; not preventing them. If this is true of many payers then they should be willing to provide the incentives for those services to be carried out. You will find that some payers’ fee schedules are very much out of line with a percentage of Medicare payments, therefore the practice administrator should focus on those payers and bring evidence of the inadequacies to their attention.

The Specialists

Specialists are, for the most part, paid at a higher rate than primary care physicians not usually for the same service! And, with GPs as gatekeepers, the specialty doc incomes may have actually decreased in some instances, while the GPs may have increased. There was a time when Medicare had two conversion factors, and this was the result. This inequity could also be used as a tool for better reimbursement rates.

Finalizing the Fee and Revenue Analysis

When the final preparations of the fee analysis have been completed, it is time to react to the results of the findings. There are several options to choose from when it has been determined that a health plans fee schedule is not in tune with the practice’s financial growth. The practice should act on these results as soon as they are discovered, to avoid the loss of any more revenue.

No longer Accepting Health Plans

During the analysis phase, you may determine that a health plan’s payment levels are extremely low. You will have to determine whether the plan is worth negotiating or the practice administrator should consider dropping out of the plan altogether at the end of the contract period. It will have to be carefully determined by the local market. If the practice is in a highly competitive market, this process should not be considered as first choice. However, if the market is very slim, the health care purchaser will be responsible for complaining to the health insurance plan provider that there is simply not enough physician coverage for their employees for the area. This could be a very effective way to force a negotiation with the health care company. If this were the case, the area would have less managed care and more MC/MD.

Not Accepting New Patients from Low Paying Health Plans

One option would be to not accept any more patients from the health plan that is reimbursing the practice with low rates. Although this may initially lower your patient count, over time the practice will benefit from new patients with health plans that have a better reimbursement policy. Include snapshot of what the final analysis or report should look like and the details of what it should include. This can be used in any specialty to assist in putting together the individual practice analysis to achieve the same results. But is it noble or ethical? What about any willing provider laws?

dhimc-book1The Future for Health Care Reimbursement

The health care purchasers who pay most of the bills, such as employers and the government, will soon be challenging the annual increase and the overall cost of health care. The cost increases of the hospital and pharmacy sectors of healthcare are far higher than that of the physician. However, the pressure for cost containment is being felt across the board. This will eventually depress future reimbursement for all healthcare providers.  In the future it will be hard for practices to keep up with the demands of labor, malpractice and supply cost increase. All medical providers need to plan for this future paradigm. To offset this trend, physicians will need to get the most out of the work that they are doing today as well as look to new revenue generating procedures for their practice that will be cheaper and more convenient to the patient.

Process Improvement

The biggest benefits will come from continually improving the process of the daily operations of the practice, as well as ensuring accurate diagnostic coding. This will enable a practice to keep up with charge capturing through the explanation of benefits (EOB) when the charge has been processed and paid by the health insurance provider. When this process identifies that there is room for negotiation, the provider should proceed for a better reimbursement rate. If the provider is in a dominant market, the payers will be more likely to issue sweeping fee increases and so can you give me an example of this ever happening? By completing a Practice Fee Analysis, any practice should be able to use this tool to demonstrate the inequities and negotiate a better reimbursement rate for the practice.

Assessment

The first step in the negotiation process would be to contact a representative of the health insurance company that is in question. If you can produce compelling evidence to the representative, the negotiation process should be the next meeting. These folks may be fired if they do what you suggest, too frequently. Continually updating the practice fee schedule will help the practice stay on top of the contracts that it practices under. Practices that present a well-documented argument may (almost never) be rewarded with positive payer response. Again, proper planning will make for great future performance in any health care practice.

Conclusion

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Defining and Understanding “Boutique Medicine”

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

What it is – How it Works

img_0566

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA 

http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

According to colleague Robert James Cimasi of Health Capital Consultants LLC in St. Louis MO, concierge or boutique medical practices began in the mid-1970s, and are now in many major metropolitan areas. Concierge medicine is described as a “return to old-fashioned medicine,” where physicians limit their client base and devote more time to each patient. Patients can usually get in to see their physician within a day, and most have 24-hour access to their physician by beeper or cell phone.

The Doctor’s Perspective

Physicians who turn to concierge medicine are typically tired of not having enough time with their patients and dealing with overbooked caseloads, and are looking for a way of balancing their lives while still providing quality care for their patients. Patients who have physicians in this type of practice appreciate the “perks” they get for paying a yearly fee — similar to “annual membership dues.” These fees can range anywhere from $1,000 per year to $10,000 per year depending on the patient’s age, benefits received, area of the country, and practice.

Patient Amenities

Amenities vary by practice, but some include longer physician office visits, increased access to physicians, e-mailed “newsletters” or condition-specific information, physicians accompanying patients on visits to specialists, and house calls. In order to provide more attentive care and amenities to patients, physicians often decrease their patient load to approximately 10-25% of their managed care load. Thus, most of their patients must find other physicians, leading to potential increases in the patient load of managed care physicians.

Elitist Patients

Although concierge medicine may provide many benefits for patients (including more, and in some cases, nearly unlimited access to their physicians), it has been met with some scrutiny. Some say that this type of medicine is elitist, that it is available only to wealthy patients who can pay the annual fees. Medicare beneficiaries who are members of a concierge practice have received political attention, because many politicians have said that the annual fees patients pay is a lot more than the Medicare rate and thus is illegal billing.

dhimc-book23

Critics

Critics also emphasize that healthcare needs to be first-rate for everyone, something that the current managed care system prevents. The implication that managed care means second-class medicine has also been a fear cited by critics.

Assessment

However, concierge physicians portray their clients as mostly middle-income people who are willing to pay more for this kind of care. Concierge medicine is not a substitute for health insurance. Patients typically keep their traditional insurance to pay for any tests or scans ordered by the physician.

MORE: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2009/10/26/customer-relationship-management-and-the-nascent-concierge-medical-practice/

MORE: https://medicalexecutivepost.com/2009/10/26/customer-relationship-management-and-the-nascent-concierge-medical-practice/

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Understanding the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

An Important and Contemporary Issue – Once Again

[By Patricia Trites; MPA, CHBC, CMP™ (Hon) with Staff Reporters]

tritesThe Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) is receiving increasing scrutiny from prosecutors during these times of financials stress and credit tightening. The statute is intended to ensure that all patients who come to the emergency department of a hospital receive care, regardless of their insurance or ability to pay. Both hospitals and physicians need to work together to ensure compliance with the provisions of this law.

Triad of Requirements

EMTALA imposes three fundamental requirements upon hospitals that participate in the Medicare program with regard to patients requesting emergency care.

First, the hospital must conduct an appropriate medical screening examination to determine if an emergency medical condition exists.

Second, if the hospital determines that an emergency medical condition exists, it must either provide the treatment necessary to stabilize the emergency medical condition or comply with the statute’s requirements to affect a proper transfer of a patient whose condition has not been stabilized. A hospital is considered to have met this second requirement if an individual refuses the hospital’s offer of additional examination or treatment, or refuses to consent to a transfer, after having been informed of the risks and benefits of treatment.

Third, EMTALA’s requirement is activated if an individual’s emergency medical condition has not been stabilized.

Hospital Transfers

A hospital may not transfer an individual with an unstable emergency medical condition unless:

(1) the individual or his or her representative makes a written request for transfer to another medical facility after being informed of the risk of transfer and the transferring hospital’s obligation under the statute to provide additional examination or treatment;

(2) a physician has signed a certification summarizing the medical risks and benefits of a transfer and certifying that, based upon the information available at the time of transfer, the medical benefits reasonably expected from the transfer outweigh the increased risks; or

(3) a qualified medical person signs the certification after the physician, in consultation with the qualified medical person, has made the determination that the benefits of transfer outweigh the increased risks, if a physician is not physically present when the transfer decision is made. The physician must later countersign the certification.dhimc-book21

On-Call Responsibilities

One area of particular concern is physician on-call responsibilities. Physician practices whose members serve as on-call hospital emergency room physicians are advised to familiarize themselves with the hospital’s policies regarding on-call physicians. This can be done by reviewing the medical staff bylaws or policies and procedures of the hospital that must define the responsibility of on-call physicians to respond to, examine, and treat patients with emergency medical conditions. Physicians should also be aware of the requirement that, when medically indicated, on-call physicians must generally come to the hospital to examine the patient. Patients may be sent to see the on-call physician at a hospital-owned contiguous or on-campus facility to conduct or complete the medical screening examination due to the following reasons:

  • all persons with the same medical condition are moved to this location;
  • there is a bona fide medical reason to move the patient;
  • qualified medical personnel accompany the patient; and
  • teaching physicians may participate.

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Conclusion

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Healthcare Projections and the US Budget 2007-09

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Issues and Challenges for Obama Administration Reform

By Staff ReportersUS Capitol

Read the complete testimony and statement of Peter R. Orzag, OMB Director, to the US Senate, dated June 21, 2007.

For more information:

Congressional Budget Office

Second and D Streets; SW

Washington, DC 20515

Link: 06-21-healthcarereform

Assessment

Now, almost two years later, and with the new Obama Administration, has your opinion changed on the potential of healthcare reform; why or why not?

Conclusion

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Understanding Modern Health Plan Delivery Models

Posted on April 25, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

By Defining Terms and Concepts

Staff Writers

www.HealthcareFinancials.comho-journal10

Here are four important health care delivery models that should be understood by all financial advisors, their clients, patients and the public:

1. PHYSICIAN ORGANIZATION (PO)

A PO is a group of physicians banding together, usually for the purpose of contracting with managed care entities, or to represent the physician component in a Physician Hospital Organization. The PO is a managed care contracting entity owned by and composed exclusively of physicians. The PO tends to be more tightly controlled in terms of members and adherence to treatment protocols than an Independent Physician Association. POs typically share information systems, claims-processing procedures, financial data, medical records, and other technical support functions.

2. PHYSICIAN PRACTICE MANAGEMENT CORPORATION (PPMC)

A firm that purchases physicians’ practices in exchange for a percentage of the gross receivables. The PPMC leases the office back to the doctor or employs the doctor on a salaried basis. The PPMC then contracts with the areas MCOs.

3. POINT OF SERVICE PLAN (POSP)

A type of managed care plan that allows members to choose whether to seek medical care within the plan’s network or seek medical care out of network at the point of service (i.e., at the time services are rendered). It allows members to pay little or nothing, if they stay within the established HMO delivery system. But, it also permits members to choose and receive services from an outside doctor, any time, if they are willing to pay higher co-payments, deductibles and possibly monthly premiums. It is also called an “open-ended” plan.

4. PREFERRED PROVIDER ORGANIZATION (PPO)

A PPO is a select, approved panel of physicians, hospitals, and other providers who agree to accept a discounted fee schedule for patients and to follow utilization review and pre-authorization protocols for certain treatments. It is a system in which a payer negotiates lower prices with certain doctors and hospitals. Patients who go to a preferred provider get a higher benefit — for example, 90% or 100% coverage of their costs — than patients who go outside the network.

Assessmentdhimc-book20

Link: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated?

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Understanding the Health Maintenance Organization Delivery Model

Posted on April 24, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

ho-journal8Defining Terms and Concepts

By Staff Writers

www.HealthcareFinancials.com

An HMO is a legal corporation that offers health insurance and medical care. It is a health care delivery system that provides comprehensive services for subscribing members in a particular geographic area. Most HMO care is provided through a managed network made up of MD/DOs, hospitals, and other allopathic/osteopathic professionals selected by the HMO. HMO enrollees are required to obtain care from this network of providers in order for their care to be covered, except in cases of emergency. All the care the members may need is paid for by the single monthly fee, plus nominal co-payments. HMOs typically offer a range of health care services at a fixed price (capitation).

Different Types

The types of HMOs are:

1. STAFF MODEL: Organization owns its clinics and employs its doctors.

2. GROUP MODEL: Contract with medical groups for services.

3. INDEPENDENT PHYSICIAN ASSOCIATION (IPA) MODEL: IPA contract that in turn contracts with individual physicians.

4. DIRECT CONTRACT or NETWORK MODEL: Contracts directly with individual physicians.

5. MIXED MODEL: Members get options ranging from staff to IPA models.

6. OPEN-PANEL MODEL: A managed care plan or HMO where members can see any provider for an extra premium cost.

Assessmentdhimc-book18

Link: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Conclusion

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Alternative Design Options for a Public Health Plan

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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New Lewin Group Report Examines Potential Impact

[By Staff Reporters]

April 6, 2009US Capitol

FALLS CHURCH, VA – The Lewin Group released a report titled “The Cost and Coverage Impacts of a Public Plan: Alternative Design Options.” The report examines potential impacts that a “public health plan” might have in competing for enrollment with the private insurance industry.

Healthcare Reform

As ME-P readers are aware, a public plan is currently being considered in a number of health reform proposals being considered by President Obama and the US Congress. This analysis enhances prior work done by The Lewin Group of the major party presidential candidate’s health reform proposals, during the 2008 campaign, as well as more recent analyses of the Congressional plans now being considered. The report estimates the impact on cost and coverage based on different levels of eligibility and reimbursement rates.

Key Findings Review

According to The Health Care Blog writer Robert Laszewski, key study findings include:

  • If Medicare payment levels are used in the public plan, premiums would be up to 30 percent less than premiums for comparable private coverage. On average, the monthly premium in the public plan for a typical benefits package would be $761 per family compared with an average of $970 per family in the private market for the same coverage.
  • If as the President proposed, eligibility is limited to only small employers, individuals and the self-employed, public plan enrollment would reach 42.9 million people. The number of people with private coverage would fall by 32.0 million people. If private payer reimbursement levels are used by the public plan, enrollment would be lower, with only 10.4 million people switching to the public plan from private insurance.
  • If the public plan is opened to all employers as proposed by former Senators Clinton and Edwards, at Medicare payment levels we estimate that about 131.2 million people would enroll in the public plan. The number of people with private health insurance would decline by 119.1 million people. This would be a two-thirds reduction in the number of people with private coverage (currently 170 million people). Here again, if the higher private payer levels are used, enrollment in private insurance would decline by only 12.5 million people.
  • Assuming Medicare reimbursement rates and eligibility for all individuals and employers, provider net income would decline under this public plan proposal, even after accounting for reduced uncompensated care and increased utilization for the newly insured. Net hospital revenues would fall by $36 billion (4.6 percent), and physician net income would fall by $33 billion (6.8 percent). If eligibility is restricted to individuals and small firms, net hospital revenues would actually increase by $11.3 billion due to the increase in newly insured individuals. But net physician incomes would decline by $3.0 billion.

Assessment

Full report: lewin-report

Conclusion

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About Medlytix.com

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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On Patient Payment Behavior Scoring

[By Staff Reporters]56371606

Medlytix is a healthcare consulting and technology firm specializing in the field of predictive payment analytics. Utilizing sophisticated data mining and scoring strategies, the company reports enhanced hospital revenue cycles and collections for healthcare providers across the country.

The Business of Healthcare

It is a fact that consumers treat medical bills differently than other financial obligations. So, Medlytix customizes revenue-enhancement strategies to target each provider’s individual market.

Suite of Services

All stakeholders benefit from a more efficient operation – from provider to patient. Medlytix offers expertise and technology to enhance the cash conversion and revenue cycle by eliminating inefficiencies while maximizing collections. A customized strategy that’s based on specific needs is crafted. Three offerings include: 1.Medilyzer, 2. Predyx, and 3. Consulting services to improve the bottom line.

Non-Profits Hospitals

Non-profit hospitals exist to serve their communities with quality healthcare accessible to all. By helping hospitals pinpoint charity-care patients who are truly in need, the focus is on the patient.

Assessment 

The mission of Medlytix is to build a healthier bottom line for hospitals. As fiscal strength improves, better hospitals provide better service to patients.

Medlytix

Conclusion

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Become a Published Print Author with Us

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

The Business of Medical Practice [3rd Edition]

By Hope Rachel Hetico RN, MHA, CMP™

[Managing Editor]biz-book7

Dear Colleagues,

As you may know, we are commencing work on the third edition of our best selling book: The Business of Medical Practice

TOC 1st: http://www.amazon.com/Business-Medical-Practice-Maximizing-Doctors/dp/0826113117/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231111232&sr=1-8

TOC 2nd: http://www.springerpub.com/prod.aspx?prod_id=23759

Invitation to Contribute

Accordingly, we would be honored for you to consider contributing a new or revised chapter, in your area of expertise, for a low-effort but high-yield contribution. Our goal is to help physician colleagues and management executives benefit from nationally known experts, as an essential platform for their success in the healthcare 2.0 business industry. Many topics are still available: [health accounting and costing; law, policy and administration; Medicare fraud and abuse; coding and insurance; HIT, grid and cloud computing; finance and economics, competitive models, collaboration and leadership, etc].

Support Always Available

Editorial support is available, and you would enjoy increasing subject-matter notoriety, exposure and public relations in an erudite and credible fashion. As a reader, or preferably a subscriber to the ME-P, your synergy in this space may be ideal. Time line for submission of a 5,000-7,500 word chapter is ample, and in a prose writing style that is “wide, not deep.” 

A Health 2.0 Initiative

And, be sure to address health 2.0 modernity. Update chapters from the second edition are also available. 

Definition: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/emerging-healthcare-20-initiatives

Assessment

Please contact me for more details, if interested. A best selling-book is rare; while a third-edition volume even more so. Join us in this project. Regardless, we trust you will remain apostles of our core ME-P vision, “uniting medical mission and financial profit margin”, promoting it whenever possible.

Front Matter Link: frontmatter1advancedbusinessmedicine4 

Contact Info:

MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

770.448.0769

Conclusion

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On Continuity of Medical Care and HIMSS

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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Considering Pay-for-Retention [P-4-R]

By Darrell K Pruitt; DDSpruitt5

Here is the question on lots of minds these days; how can we change the way medical providers are paid so they are both incentivized and adequately compensated to provide consistent, high-quality, patient-centered medical homes?

My Novel Idea

Here is a solid, common sense idea; increase providers’ pay gradually according to how long the doctors retain patients – who are free to choose any doctor they wish.  Consistency is the mortar of a medical home [i.e., pay-4-retention]. 

An Ounce of Prevention 

If prevention, which predates eHRs by thousands of years, is more than just a modern buzzword, the nation can still shave much more expense from health care by promoting continual, personalized care for consumers than from digital health records alone – void of prevention incentives. Who in the audience still cannot understand that concept? Think of it this way. How do business leaders in the land of the free retain the best employees? They pay bonuses. Even waiters get tips to encourage interest in providing service consumers will return for. What do US physicians get?  Guaranteed cuts in their Medicaid payments over the next decade. Physicians no longer encourage their children to become doctors. Surprised? Scared? 

Consumers Should Rule 

In place of consumers ruling their healthcare in the US, well-positioned, giant stakeholders have persuaded lawmakers to offer physicians bonus money (that will later be taken away), not for curing patients, but for using digital records “in a meaningful manner.” It’s called “Mark and Michael Leavitts’ Clicking for Cash.”  Since the rules are made up along the way, they change like the weather. That is why the larger and more progressive medical facilities pay bonuses to retain their best “Coders” and other informatics specialists who keep up with the current Ingenix-styled games in order to maximize profits. It is my opinion that health care IT’s complexity works well with the economic stimulus plan to improve employment in the nation. Entrepreneurial stakeholders will continue to be movie-star popular right up until the complete collapse of Medicare.  Then they’ll be impossible to find www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

HIMSS 

Have you ever heard of HIMSS?

“The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry’s membership organization exclusively focused on providing leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare.”

– From the HIMSS Web site.

HIMSS Annual Meeting 

A week ago, HIMSS convened its annual convention in Chicago. The keynote speakers for the four day event were actor Dennis Quaid; followed by the Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, George C. Halvorson; then the economist and former Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, and finally; Jerry M. Linenger, MD, MSSM, MPH, PhD, Captain, Medical Corps, USN (Ret.), NASA Astronaut, and Space Analyst, NBC News. As one can tell, healthcare IT has lots of momentum. In fact, Dave Roberts, the HIMSS vice president for government relations confidently told Bob Brewin on NextGov.com

“The e-records initiative is an entitlement program like Social Security.” 

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090406_1509.phpdhimc-book9

Another Entitlement Program – Entitlement for Whom

In Regina Herzlinger’s 2007 book “Who Killed Health Care?” the Harvard School of Business professor argues that entitled stakeholders, including a few ambitious members of HIMSS, are destroying health care in the name of reform. In the first half of her 260 page book, she spells out entrepreneurial malfeasance in simple well-annotated terms. In the last half, she describes why Consumer-Driven Health Care [CDHC] makes sense to her. Professor Herzlinger does not specifically mention the words “medical home” in her book, yet she emphasizes the importance of continuity of care. To promote continuity, she suggests that managed care insurance policies be extended to three years duration and longer.  Although she also does not mention dentistry, it is obvious to me that since chronic illnesses like diabetes are exacerbated by poor oral health, continuity of care in dentistry is of special importance.  It occasionally takes years to improve some patients’ oral health care. And sometimes we fail.

Assessment 

If these assumptions about continuity of care are accurate, it follows that the physical and economic health of the nation depends on long-term medical insurance contracts with employers and freedom-of-choice in providers. So is prevention worth holding ourselves accountable to consumers for once? Maybe it is just me, but I think unprecedented truth in healthcare will soon emerge regardless of stakeholders’ needs for confusion and obscurity.  It is called consumerism.  And it goes hand-in-hand with the Hippocratic Oath, the free-market and common sense.

Conclusion

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More about Healthcare Organizations [Financial Management Strategies]

Posted on April 12, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Our Print-Journal Preface

By Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™hetico1

As Managing Editor of a two volume – 1,200 pages – premium quarterly print journal, I am often asked about our Preface.

A Two-Volume Guide

As so, our hope is that Healthcare Organizations: [Financial Management Strategies] will shape the hospital management landscape by following three important principles.

What it is – How it works

1. First, we have assembled a world-class editorial advisory board and independent team of contributors and asked them to draw on their experience in economic thought leadership and managerial decision making in the healthcare industrial complex. Like many readers, each struggles mightily with the decreasing revenues, increasing costs, and high consumer expectations in today’s competitive healthcare marketplace. Yet, their practical experience and applied operating vision is a source of objective information, informed opinion, and crucial information for this manual and its quarterly updates.

2. Second, our writing style allows us to condense a great deal of information into each quarterly issue.  We integrate prose, applications and regulatory perspectives with real-world case models, as well as charts, tables, diagrams, sample contracts, and checklists.  The result is a comprehensive oeuvre of financial management and operation strategies, vital to all healthcare facility administrators, comptrollers, physician-executives, and consulting business advisors.

3. Third, as editors, we prefer engaged readers who demand compelling content. According to conventional wisdom, printed manuals like this one should be a relic of the past, from an era before instant messaging and high-speed connectivity. Our experience shows just the opposite.  Applied healthcare economics and management literature has grown exponentially in the past decade and the plethora of Internet information makes updates that sort through the clutter and provide strategic analysis all the more valuable. Oh, it should provide some personality and wit, too! Don’t forget, beneath the spreadsheets, profit and loss statements, and financial models are patients, colleagues and investors who depend on you.ho-journal9

www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Assessment

Rest assured, Healthcare Organizations: [Financial Management Strategies] will become an important peer-reviewed vehicle for the advancement of working knowledge and the dissemination of research information and best practices in our field. In the years ahead, we trust these principles will enhance utility and add value to your subscription. Most importantly, we hope to increase your return on investment [ROI] in some small increment.

Visit and Order Now

Specialty Technical Publishers

8 – 14th Street

Blaine, WA 98230

1-800-251-0381

orders@stpub.com

http://www.stpub.com/pubs/ho.htm

TOC: http://www.stpub.com/pdfs/toc_ho.pdf

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post, complimentary e-companion are appreciated. If you would like to contribute material or suggest topics for a future update, please contact me. Subscribers, have we attained our goals and objectives, as a work-in-progress in this preface statement?

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What HMO’s Seek in Private Managed Care Contracts

Posted on April 12, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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Whole Sale – Not Retail – Medicine is Growing

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CPHQ, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]dem22

The conversion to managed healthcare, and capitation financing, is a significant marketing force and not merely a temporary business trend. More than 60% of all physicians (MD/DO) in the country are now employees of a MCO, HMO, PHO, etc. Those that embrace these forces will thrive, while those opposed will not.

Achieve Geographic Desirability

After you have evaluated the HMOs in your geographic area, you must then make your practice more attractive to them, since there are far too many physicians in most regions today. The following issues are considered by most MCO financial managers and business experts, as they decide whether or not to include you in their network.

General Standards:

1. Is there a local or community need for your practice, with a sound patient base that is not too small or large? Remember,  practices that already have a significant number of patients have some form of leverage since MCOs know  that patients do not like swithcing their primary care doctors or pediatrician, and women do not want to be forced to change their Ob/Gyn specialist. If the group leaves the plan, members may complain to their employers and  give a negative impression of the plan.   

2. A positive Return on Investment (ROI) from your economically sound practice is important to MCO’s because they wish to continue their relationship with you. Often, this means it is difficult for younger practitioners to enter a plan, since plan actuaries realize that there is a high attrition rate among new practitioners. On the other hand, they also realize that more established practices have high overhead costs and may tend to enter into less lucrative contract offerings just to pay the bills.

3. A merger or acquisition is a strategy for the MCO internal business plan that affords a seamless union should a practice decide to sell out or consolidate at a later date. Therefore, such as strategy should include things as: strong managerial and cost accounting principals, a group identity rather than individual mindset, profitability, transferable systems and processes, corporatized form of business, and a vertically integrated organization if a multi-specialty group.

4. Human resources, capital and IT service to synergism with existing MIS framework? This is often difficult for the solo or small group practice and may portend the need to consolidate with similar groups to achieve needed economies of scale and capital, especially in areas of high MCO penetration.

5. Consolidated financial statements conforming to GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principals), IRC (Internal Revenue Code), OIJ (Office of the Inspector General), and other appraisal standards.

6. Strong and respected MD leadership in the medical and business community? MCO’s prefer to deal with physician executives with advanced degrees. You may not need a MBA or CPA, but you should be familiar with basic business, managerial and financial principals. This includes a conceptual understanding of horizontal and vertical integration, cost principals, cost volume analysis, financial ratio analysis and cost behavior? 

7. Be willing to treat all conditions and types of patients. The adage,”more risk equates to more reward” is still applicable and most groups should take all the full risk contracting they can handle, providing they are not pooled contracts.

8. Are you a team player or solo act? The former personality type might do better in a group or MCO driven practice, while a fee for service market is still possible and may be better suited to the latter personality type.

9. Valid license, DEA narcotics license, CME, adequate malpractice insurance, board qualification/certification, hospital privileges, agree with the managed care philosophy, and have partners in a group practice that meet all the same participation criteria.  Be available for periodic MCO review by a company representative.

Specific Medical Office Standards MCOs Desire

·         Clean, presentable with a professional appearance.

·         Readily accessible with barrier free design (OSHA).

·         Appropriate medical emergency and resuscitation equipment.

·         Waiting room to accommodate 5-7 patients with private changing areas.

·         Adequate capacity (i.e., 5,000-10,000 member minimum), BP and office assistants for the plan.

·         Office hour minimum (i.e., 20 hours/week)

·         24/7 on-call coverage with electronic tracking.

·         MCO approved sub-contractors.

Assessment

Always remember, in the game of negotiations, today’s enemy – may be tomorrow’s ally.

Conclusion

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About: Healthcare Organizations [Financial Management Strategies]

Posted on April 11, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Our Print Mission Statement

[By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™]

Publisher-in-Chief

dem25As Editor-in-Chief of a two volume – 1,200 pages – premium quarterly print journal, I am often asked about our mission statement; or the journal’s raison d’etra.

A Two-Volume Guide

As so, Healthcare Organizations: [Financial Management Strategies], with its quarterly updates, will promote and integrate academic and applied research, and serve as a multi-disciplined communications forum for the dissemination of financial, managerial, business and related economic information to decision makers in hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics, medical practices and all mature and emerging healthcare organizations. 

Target Market and Ideal Reader

Healthcare Organizations [Financial Management Strategies] and its quarterly updates should be in the hands of all:

* CFOs, CEOs, COOs, CTOs, VPs and CIOs from every type of hospital and healthcare organization including: public, federal, state, Veteran’s Administration and Indian Health Services hospitals; district, rural, long-term care and community hospitals; specialty, children’s and rehabilitation hospitals; diagnostic imaging centers and laboratories; private, religious-sponsored, and psychiatric institutions.

*  Physician Hospital Organizations, Management Services Organizations (MSOs), Independent Practice Associations (IPAs), Group Practices Without Walls (GPWWs), Integrated Delivery Systems (IDSs) and their administrators, comptrollers, cost accountants, budget directors, cash managers, auditors, healthcare attorneys and consultants,  and actuaries, and all endowment fund directors, executives, consultants and strategic financial managers.

*  Ambulatory care centers, hospices, and outpatient clinics; skilled nursing facilities, integrated networks and group practices; academic medical centers, nurses and physician executives; business school and health administration students, and all economic decision-makers and directors of allopathic, dental, podiatric and osteopathic healthcare organizations.

Assessment

After publication, my suggestion is to read, study and act upon the guide in this way:

1. First, browse through the entire text.

2. Next, slowly read those chapters and sections that are of specific interest to your professional efforts.

3. Then, extrapolate portions that can be implemented in specific strategies helpful to your healthcare setting.

4. Finally, use its’ ME-P updates as a reference manual to return to time and time again; and enjoy!

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

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Filed under: Accounting, Book Reviews, Career Development, Drugs and Pharma, Ethics, Experts Invited, Health Economics, Health Insurance, Health Law & Policy, Healthcare Finance, iMBA, Inc., Information Technology, Managed Care, Practice Management, Practice Worth, Professional Liability, Recommended Books, Research & Development, Risk Management, Sponsors | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Direct Reimbursement [DR] and RiskManagers.Us

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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Transparent Dental Benefits versus Confusion

[By Darrell K. Pruitt; DDS]

pruitt

“If you are not a part of the solution, there is good money to be made prolonging the problem.” 

Company slogan- www.riskmanagers.us

Meet Mr. William Rusteberg

Today, I met William Rusteberg on the PennWell forum when he replied to the thread, “Why the long NPI, BCBS-TX?” which I copied below, along with my response which includes a plug for Direct Reimbursement [DR].

http://community.pennwelldentalgroup.com/forum/topics/why-the-long-npi-bcbstx?page=1&commentId=2013420%3AComment%3A26976&x=1#2013420Comment26976

Mr. Rusteberg represents a company called RiskManagers.Us, whose specialty involves the benefits market, yet it is not exactly an insurance company – just like there is no such thing as true dental insurance.  RiskManagers.us is a firm that works directly with businesses to identify and develop cost-effective benefits packages – emphasizing transparency and fairness.  Now that is refreshing, friends! 

Defining RiskManagers.Us 

Here is how RiskManagers.us describes itself: 

“We do not work for an insurance company, we work for you. As an independent brokerage, and consulting firm we can represent any licensed insurance company in Texas, Colorado, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Illinois & Florida.”

If one visits the Web site’s “Reference Library,” here are some of the topics offered:

·         Self Funding – Need a second opinion?

·         Texas leads in transparency issues

·         Can’t get claim information? HB 2015 May Solve Your Problem

·         Medical Stop Loss Through a Captive

·         PPO Discounts – Games People Play

·         PPO Networks – Shell Game

·         Can Hospitals waive Deductibles in Texas?

“What is a NPI number?” 

Mr. Rusteberg’s initial question on the PennWell forum simply asked, “What is a NPI number?”  Following my explanation, he wrote: 

 “It seems that many of those in your profession would do well in accepting cash only, or directly working with employer groups who sponsor dental/medical plans on a direct pay basis. We have had good success in doing this for our clients – we have one employer in San Antonio who pays medical care providers directly and quickly – providers like it and the plan pays a fair and reasonable rate, not relying on a PPO network to “re-price” claims. We have done the same on dental plans, eliminating the insurance company, PPO network and paying dental care providers submitted charges directly and quickly. We see little or no trend increases on dental charges using this method. In my view, insurance companies interfere in patient – provider relationships in a financially detrimental way.”

Thanks for your reply.

My Response:

I like you, William; 

What you describe sounds like my all-time, personal favorite dental benefits plan. It is called Direct Reimbursement {DR}, and it not only gives the employer the unlimited capability to design a plan which reflects the level of commitment desired by the company, but most importantly, it naturally preserves quality of care by allowing employees unlimited freedom of choice in dentists.  And that’s as good as the market gets. 

http://www.directreimbursement.com/

In addition, since there are no NPI requirements for DR, employees are also permitted see dentists who decline NPI numbers for ethical reasons. That increases employees’ choice by 50% over BCBS-TX clients, according to recent information provided by the Healthcare IT Transition Group.

http://www.npidentify.com/stats.htm#states

Little Management Needed

Just like the benefits plans you mention, with DR, very little money is spent on management because such policies are so simple and transparent that there is no room for profit-enhancing (wasteful) confusion used by unethical companies like BCBSTX, Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealth, Delta Dental, United Concordia, and so many other members of the National Association of Dental Plans (NADP).

Assessment

Without transparency and the invisible hand of freedom-of-choice, free-market competition for healthcare dollars disappears as fast as executive bonuses rise. We’ll see where it goes from here. It would sure be swell if a Direct Reimbursement representative takes interest in the conversation; anyone home? 

Conclusion

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

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Hospital Non-Profit Care and Community Benefits

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

The IRS Sounds-Off 

Staff Reportersstk212064rke

According to the Internal Revenue Service [IRS], a survey of nearly 500 not-for-profit hospitals in 2006 revealed that 9 percent total revenues were dedicated to community benefit. The just finalized 2006 report warned that attempts to set a percentage threshold for determining compliance may have a

“disproportionate impact on hospitals, depending upon their size, where they are located their community benefit mix, and other hospital and community demographics.”

Link: http://greisguide.com/?p=1059

Definition

The current “community benefit” standard was established by the IRS in 1969 in Revenue Ruling 69-545.  The standard sets out factors to be considered in measuring community benefit, including: (i) a board made up of a broad base of community members; (ii) an open medical staff; (iii) participation in Medicare and Medicaid; (iv) application of surplus funds toward improving facilities, equipment, patient care, medical training, research, and education; and (v) a full-time emergency room open to all regardless of ability to pay (the emergency room standard applies differently to tax-exempt Long Term and Acute Care Hospitals [LTACH] that do not maintain a full array of emergency department services).  Under the current community benefit standard, individual hospitals are given flexibility to determine what services will-best serve their communities.

www.HealthDictionarySeries.com 

dhimc-book2

Assessment

Some pundits suggest that if Congress doesn’t establish new charity care requirements, the IRS should revert to its community benefit standard last in force in 1969.

Interim Report: http://greisguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/eo_interim_hospital_report_072007.pdf

Conclusion

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Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

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Defining Current Dental Terminology [CDT®] Codes

Posted on April 5, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

What they Are – How they Work

By Staff Reportersdhimc-book1

OMAP Unique Procedure Codes*

The HHS [Health and Human Services] Office of Medical Assistance Program’s [OMAP] unique procedure codes were originally listed in the appropriate service guides. The maintenance of these codes was the responsibility of OMAP. These procedure codes were reviewed as needed and deleted either when a program no longer exists or when other Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System [HCPCS] codes are created which fully describe the service. Most of the unique codes were created to meet the needs of specialized services or programs. OMAP’s unique procedure codes were all five character configurations with the following alpha/numeric combinations: four numeric/one alpha (e.g., 7300Y); three numeric, two alpha (e.g., 206EP); two alpha/three numeric (e.g., BA311); or three alpha/two numeric (e.g., VIS01).

Current Dental Terminology (CDT procedure codes)

The American Dental Association’s (ADA) Code on Dental Procedures and Nomenclature is contained in the CDT-3 user guide. The maintenance of these codes is the responsibility of the Council on Dental Benefit Programs with consultation from: Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, the Health Insurance Association of America, the Health Care Financing Association, National Electronic Information Corporation, and the American Dental Association recognized dental specialty organizations. The ADA updates the user guide approximately every five years. CDT codes are five-character, alpha-numeric configurations (e.g., D2110). Contact the American Dental Association to obtain a current copy of the CDT-3 Users Manual.

* Note: Due to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) requirements, Medicare Local codes and OMAP Unique codes were replaced with national standard procedure codes. 

www.HealthcareFinancials.com

ho-journal8

Assessment

For more terminology information, please refer to the Dictionary of Health Economics and Finance.

www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated?

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Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Health Administration Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

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Inspect our 2-Volume Hospital Print Guide [for Free]

Posted on April 5, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

ADVETISEMENT

Evaluate “Healthcare Organizations” [Financial Management Strategies] AND Order Now!

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA

By Professor Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA

[Editor and Managing Editor]ho-journal10

As healthcare continues to evolve, leaders and executives have the formidable and immediate challenge of creating both short-term and long-term financial strategies. Given that today’s knowledge-base is different from that of even six-months ago, and the need is for solutions to tomorrow’s economic problems, success seems always just beyond your grasp!

Why Subscribe?

But fortunately, you can be ready; Healthcare Organizations: [Financial Management Strategies] is your blueprint for success. To ensure your organization’s competitive edge and perhaps even its survival, you must quickly gain the financial management tools and techniques necessary to lead in the 21st century. What you learn and implement using this Guide enables you to respond proactively to the rapidly changing healthcare environment. Your subscription to Healthcare Organizations: [Financial Management Strategies] not only helps you lead, it brings together healthcare executives and visionary thought leaders to help you develop essential models and successful financial management strategies, going forward.

www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Subscription Support

Specialty Technical Publishers is pleased to provide customer information and support services for Healthcare Organizations: [Financial Management Strategies] by phone, fax, or e-mail. Customer information services hours are between 7 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time; or http://www.stpub.com/pubs/custinfo.htm
Testimonials

“This well-organized financial management guide is easy to use and perfect for the healthcare organization, hospital or clinic manager; CFO, CEO, administrator or comptroller; CNO, CMO or physician-executive  who is tasked with developing, implementing and extending a comprehensive (and integrated) financial, accounting, health economics and enterprise-wide business management program.”

Operating Room Supervisor

Hospital Administrator

Baltimore, Maryland

Assessment 

For today … for tomorrow … for all healthcare organizations … for you! Remember, the Guide is available on a 30-day, risk-free trial. You may contact http://www.STPub.com at (604) 983-3434, fax (604) 983-3445, or e-mail at custinfo@stpub.com to place an order, or ask questions regarding pricing and/or availability. All shipments arrive within 5 to 10 days. Prepayment is required for all international shipments and a courier charge will be added to the subscription price. After hours, we suggest you review the STP website FAQs section for answer to your inquiry: www.stpub.com/pubs/custinfo.htm

Specialty Technical Publishers

8 – 14th Street

Blaine, WA 98230

1-800-251-0381 

orders@stpub.com

http://www.stpub.com/pubs/ho.htm

TOC: http://www.stpub.com/pdfs/toc_ho.pdf

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Defining Current Procedural Terminology [CPT®] Codes

Posted on April 4, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

What they are – How they work

By Staff Reportersdhimc-book

The American Medical Association’s Physicians’ Current Procedural Terminology® is contained in the CPT user guide. The maintenance of these codes is the responsibility of the American Medical Association with consultation from the AMA CPT Editorial Panel, Advisory Committee, and the AMA CPT Health Care Professionals Advisory Committee. Procedure codes in the CPT user guide are reviewed and revised annually. The Health Care Financing Administration’s – now CMS – Common Procedure Coding System [HCPCS] lists three levels:  

Level I National Codes

CPT codes are five-character, all numeric configurations (e.g., 99215). Contact the American Medical Association to obtain a current copy of the CPT® Users Manual.

Level II National Codes

The HCPCS Level II National codes are contained in the HCPCS user’s guide and are published in the Federal Register. The maintenance of these codes is the responsibility of the Health Care Financing Administration [CMS]. Procedure codes in the HCPCS user guide are reviewed and revised annually. HCPCS codes are five characters with one alpha and four numeric configurations (e.g., A0042). Contact any publishing company that provides medical coding reference books to obtain a current copy of the current HCPCS User Manual.

Level III Medicare Local Codes*

Historically, local Medicare carriers developed local procedure codes which were published in the local Medicare Newsletters. The maintenance of these codes was the responsibility of the local Medicare carrier. Medicare local procedure codes were all five-character configurations with the following alpha/numeric configuration: one alpha, (W, X, Y or Z) with four numeric configurations (e.g., Y5523); and two alphas, (W, X, Y or Z) same character with three numeric identifiers (e.g., XX001). Contact your local Medicare carriers to obtain their Medicare Newsletters.

* Note: Due to HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) requirements, Medicare Local codes and the Office of Medicare Assistance Program Unique [OMAPU] codes were replaced with national standard procedure codes. 

Assessment

For more terminology information, please refer to the Dictionary of Health Economics and Finance.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated?

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Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com

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Evaluate our 2-Volume Institutional Print Guide

Posted on April 4, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Healthcare Organizations [Financial Management Strategies]

ADVERTISEMENTho-journal2

www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Our 1,200 pages, 2-volume, quarterly institutional print guide Healthcare Organizations [Financial Management Strategies] is available on a 30-day, risk-free trial.

You may contact http://www.STPub.com at (604) 983-3434, fax (604) 983-3445, or e-mail at custinfo@stpub.com to place an order, or ask questions regarding pricing and/or availability.

All shipments arrive within 5 to 10 days. Prepayment is required for all international shipments and a small courier charge will be added to the subscription price.

After hours, we suggest you review the STP website FAQs section for answer to your inquiry: www.stpub.com/pubs/custinfo.htm

Assessment

Rest assured, Healthcare Organizations: [Financial Management Strategies] will become an important peer-reviewed vehicle for the advancement of working knowledge and the dissemination of research information and best practices in our field. In the years ahead, we trust these principles will enhance utility and add value to your subscription. Most importantly, we hope to increase your return on investment [ROI] by some small increment.

Review and Ordering Information:

Specialty Technical Publishers

8 – 14th Street

Blaine, WA 98230

1-800-251-0381

orders@stpub.com

http://www.stpub.com/pubs/ho.htm

TOC: http://www.stpub.com/pdfs/toc_ho.pdfcmp-logo

Note: The guide is sponsored by www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com with contributions from www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com and is edited by ME-P’s Dr. David E. Marcinko and Professor Hope R. Hetico; RN, MHA. Definitions and terms supplied by www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated? Reviews from current journal-guide subscribers are encouraged and appreciated.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Usual and Customary UnitedHealthcare?

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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More on “Sleazy” Healthcare Stakeholders

1-darrellpruitt

[By Darrell K. Pruitt; DDS]

If the leaders of the American Dental Association have the power and stoic determination to casually sweep aside trouble-making members who might tarnish their image, one would think that they could certainly avoid associating with sleazy healthcare stakeholders; such as UnitedHealthcare.

The Insurance Giants 

Have you ever suspected that insurance giants like UnitedHealthcare, WellPoint, Aetna and Cigna (and other members of the National Association of Dental Plans) lie to patients when the say a dentist’s fees are above “usual, customary and reasonable” levels?  You could be correct.  NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo says UnitedHealthcare, WellPoint, Aetna and Cigna lie to physicians’ patients – understating New York state physician’s fees up to 28 percent.  Why would the crooks treat dentists’ patients any differently?

Employing Tapeworms to Control Fat

Cuomo caught UHC and others cheating their customers with smoke, mirrors and Ingenix – its wholly-owned data mining and consulting subsidiary.  Who would have guessed that UHC would tweak Ingenix to manipulate claims data to favor UHC and other insurance companies who subscribe to their services?  These are the same parasites who want to run the nation’s Pay-For-Performance (P4P) mandate – a cornerstone of President Bush’s healthcare reform ideas.  They want to tweak professional reputations for healthcare reform and the common good. 

And of Ingenix 

Ingenix is a full-service consulting business for insurers, backed with the credibility of 14 years of accumulated health claims it is privy to.  The “friend in the business” not only cooks the data to produce profit-enhancing Usual, Customary and Reasonable (UCR) fee schedules, Ingenix is also active in “pay-for-performance program assessment, strategy, planning, design, implementation, evaluation and improvement.” 

http://www.ingenixconsulting.com/about_history.html

So if you like the way UnitedHealthcare dental consultants treat you now, just wait until they are given authority to determine your worth to society using Ingenix leveraging tools.

P-4-P 

I first read about pay-for-performance [P4P] in dentistry in February 2006 in an email from Patrick Cannady who is an employee in the ADA Department of Dental Informatics.  He told me that nation-wide quality control in dentistry is an important benefit of having a HIPAA-compliant, paperless dental practice – and that the Department of Dental Informatics is very excited about the opportunity to help prepare US dentists for the future.  A month or so later, I learned that the NPI number the ADA still pushes on membership is the crucial legal link to government-approved P4P data-mills like Ingenix – a wholly-owned UnitedHealthcare profit center.  Do you think it is odd that the NPI is “voluntary,” yet irreversible?

AMA’s Award 

In January, the AMA was awarded $350 million in a lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare and Ingenix on behalf of physicians, and they plan to sue other major insurance companies as well.  So what has the ADA done to discourage UnitedHealthcare’s and other NADP members’ atrocious behavior that undeniably harms dental patients?  You won’t believe it when I tell you. Here’s more:  In a recent Associated Press interview, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said UnitedHealthcare is nothing but a company of cheats.  He says, “They’re lowballing deliberately. They deliberately cut the numbers so the consumer has to pay more of the cost.”

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gL4XFckx9sah3eFEMuHYD3V2WGhQD97763800

So if Cannady’s department is all for P4P and other benefits from interoperable digital records, the question on most ADA members’ minds should be:  What does the ADA think of UnitedHealthcare?

ADA News Online

Two weeks ago the ADA News Online posted an advertisement that looks like an article (with no byline) for the spring meeting of the American Association of Dental Consultants (AADC) on May 7-9 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=3493

Since it is so well known that UnitedHealthcare is the major funding sponsor of the AADC, the word in the neighborhood says AADC, like Ingenix, is another UnitedHealthcare profit center awaiting the wrecking-ball.

Link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gL4XFckx9sah3eFEMuHYD3V2WGhQD97763800

Assessment

Last year’s annual meeting of the dental consultants – who deny dental claims to protect the ethics in dentistry – featured ADA Senior Vice-President Dr. John Luther as a guest speaker.  Dr. Luther is Cannady’s boss.  He oversees the Department of Dental Informatics.  Yep.  The ADA is tight with UnitedHealthcare. One can tell a person’s character by the company he or she keeps. 

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com

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Future of Health Publishing and Business Journalism

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Good Content and “Fly” Beats the Competition

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]dr-david-marcinko7

Last month, Steve Brawner [Steve Brawner Communications, a free-lance journalist for the Medical Business News, Inc., and the publisher of Medical News of Arkansas] contacted me to talk about hospitals, healthcare economics and the current financial dilemma in medical care. The interview will appear, as a special report, in April

But, after discussing answers to his top ten questions, we at the Institute of Medical Business Advisors, Inc www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com posited another interesting query. It was not on any particular subject area of our expertise, but aimed at us as electronic-publishers, reporters and health journalists.biz-book3 

The Future of Journalism

In other words, the question was:

“What do we think is the future business model for health journalism?”

Now, we’ve been mulling this thought over some time now, and our opinion goes something like this:

“We don’t – the old media is collapsing.”

And, while I don’t pity the likes of Chicago billionaire Sam Zell [the so-called “grave-dancer” for his penchant to buy distressed companies on the cheap and revitalize them for profit] – poor Sam – he was a very successful real-estate entrepreneur and the Chairman of Equity Group Investments. He thought this knowledge or luck was transferrable to the publishing industry, it wasn’t.

But, I do feel for distressed print newspapers like the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Chicago Tribune and especially the Baltimore Sun; as a native Balti-moron. I have both a favorite uncle, and older cousin, whose entire careers were spent in the print and ink business, there.

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/03/09/healthcare-experts-versus-health-journalists/

New Media “Fly”

How has this happened? Well, Google destroyed the advertising model for most media, and blogs and social networks have democratized the commentary / opinion playing field to some greater / lesser extent. Think: Mark Zuckerberg [Facebook] of Harvard, whose parents are both physicians – incidentally Mark’s got “fly” – Zell does not. We got the electrons at the ME-P, but little cash.

The Problem

The problem is that not many “new” media outlets, like the Medical Executive-Post, can afford to take on the interesting part of publishing; which is paying real investigative journalists. Think: The Huffington Post. Something I would love to be able to do; as there’s lots of muck to be raked in health economics, finance, administration, health IT; as well as medically focused financial planning, Wall Street and related personal investing activities for doctors – an integrated oeuvre of topics to say the least.

www.HealthDictionarySeries.comdhimc-book1

Our Own Investigative Reporter

About the closest we have to a true investigative reporter is Darrel K. Pruitt; DDS. And, although he is no Bob Woodward or Carl Bernstein; he does occasionally do a good job. Think: William Mark Felt as FBI agent “deep-throat”.

Of course, as regular readers of the ME-P are aware, Darrell broke the dental profession’s [allegedly dufus] conspiracy with CCHIT [allegedly faux], and regularly reports on the folly of eHRs, eDRs, NPIs and eMRs. Think: citizen doctor journalist.  

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/cchit-is-prejudiced-and-lacks-diversity-%e2%80%93-an-indictment/

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/avi-baumstein-and-hipaa-compliancy/

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/03/04/don%e2%80%99t-rush-ehrs/

Assessment

But, when the ME-P gets financially solid enough to hire others, and put them into the mix of expertise, commentary and free-labor entrepreneur punditry we now have on the site; then there’ll be no need for the current newspapers [at least insofar as our covered topic channels are concerned]. Until then; we don’t know what the answer is, but it, like the economy, doesn’t look good for the print media space.

Link: http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/03/newspapers-and-thinking-the-unthinkable

Disclaimer about HealthcareFinancials.com ho-journal1

As Editor-in-Chief of the premium subscription, two volume, 1,200 pages, institutional print-guide Healthcare Organizations [Financial Management Strategies], we prefer engaged readers who demand compelling content; old or new media.

www.HealthcareFinancials.com

According to the conventional wisdom expressed above, this printed guide should be a relic of the past, from an era before instant messaging and high-speed connectivity. But, our experience shows just the opposite. Applied healthcare economics and financial management literature has grown exponentially in the past decade and the plethora of internet information makes updates that sort through the clutter and provide strategic analysis all the more valuable.

Info: http://www.stpub.com/pubs/ho.htm

TOC: http://www.stpub.com/pdfs/toc_ho.pdf

Purchase: Call 1-800-251-0381 or email orders@stpub.com

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. What is our best-of-breed business model for print and the internet? Should we charge for our electronic content – and if so – how much? OR, shall it remain an informal and complimentary companion to the $535 annual print guide? Please opine. 

And, please subscribe to the ME-P here; it’s fast, free and secure:

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Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Obama on the SGR Physician Payment Formula

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Solo Doctors and and Small Group Practices May Benefit

By Staff Reporterscoins3

According to Diana Manos of Healthcare Finance News, on March 23, 2009, small medical group practices and solo and/or independent physicians may benefit most from the recently proposed Obama healthcare budget. In it, President Obama asked Congress for $76.8 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS] for fiscal year 2010. Some funding would come from changes to the way healthcare is provided, with a new emphasis on pay-for-performance [P4P] for Medicare providers.

The AMA’s Response   

It was reported that, Joseph M. Heyman, MD, chairman of the American Medical Association’s Board of Trustees, said the AMA is pleased with the administration’s proposed new baseline – or projected spending over a period of time – or Medicare physician payment updates.

“Unlike previous budget forecasts, the administration’s new budget baseline recognizes that Congress needs to and will act to avert the serious access crisis that looms as physicians face drastic payment cuts in the coming decade due to the failed Medicare physician payment formula,” he is reported to have said. Furthermore,  

“The AMA strongly supports the use of a realistic baseline as a foundation for Congress to move forward with a permanent solution to the flawed SGR physician payment formula, and urges the committee and Congress to ensure that a new Medicare physician payment baseline is adopted in the 2010 Fiscal Year (FY) Budget Resolution.”

Assessment

Under the president’s budget request, Medicare Advantage would be revamped; physicians and hospitals could expect to be paid for performance [P4P] under Medicare; pharmaceutical companies would face steeper competition from generic drug companies and the government would clamp down on inadvertent and fraudulent overpayments under Medicare. The budget also calls for “comprehensive, but fiscally responsible reforms” to the physician payment formula [Sustainable Growth Rate], moving toward rewarding doctors for efficient quality care.

Link: http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/small-physician-practices-can-expect-real-changes-healthcare-under-obama-budget

Conclusion

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BCBS-TX Dental Insurance is Rude to Everyone

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Why the Long NPI – BCBSTX?

[By Darrell Pruitt; DDS]pruitt5

More than a year ago, Dr. Robert Ahlstrom, an ADA [American Dental Association] and NHII (National Healthcare Information Infrastructure) task force member, told attendees to the ADA’s 3rd International Evidence-Based Dentistry Conference that the NPI number is

“Critical to the future of dentistry.” 

But, to this day, he refuses to reveal why. Even though I have learned that he is a very shy man on the Internet; on that Sunday in May in ADA Headquarters, he confidently added,

“It is only voluntary unless you want to get paid.” 

His case-closed proclamation shut down discussion cold in a Soviet manner. Did I mention that this occurred at an “Evidence-Based Dentistry” conference? Soviet East Germany was also called the German Democratic Republic.

NPI Harmful to Dentists and Patients

There is nothing evidence-based or otherwise about the NPI number – that benefits anyone but healthcare stakeholders. In fact, the number actually harms both dentists and patients. Like Ahlstrom, the irreversible NPI number is simply un-American. However, the NPI means profit for sleazy dental insurance companies like BCBS of Texas – especially when dentists’ reimbursements for work done long ago are delayed by NPI-NPPES screw-ups.  Some physicians’ payments have been delayed for a year or more because of NPPES crosswalk difficulties. Who needs that?

Veteran’s Example Scenario

A new patient called my office this week wanting an appointment to start a crown. We don’t normally block off two and one-half hours for a patient on the first visit, but the Veteran told my office manager that before he was recently discharged, they did a root canal, post build-up and temporary on a tooth that still needs a crown. I like to think other dentists would also risk big holes in their schedules for Veterans. We owe them at least that much.

BCBSTX Dental Insurance

When he showed up with his BCBSTX dental insurance information, my office manager had to tell him that even though his boss was promised by the BCBSTX sales representative that the dental benefits package he bought for his employees was good anywhere, it cannot be used in my office because I do not have an NPI number. I am licensed to practice dentistry in the state of Texas, but that is not enough for BCBSTX. Capricious qualifications are certainly their choice if they prefer to do business that way in Texas, but why does BCBSTX leave it to my office manager to inform their clients about their deception?  If a client who pays premiums to BCBSTX likes a dentist who does not have an NPI number, those premiums are pure profit for BCBSTX. It is easy to understand that the more obstacles BCBSTX can put between their clients and obligations to cover their dental bills, the bigger are the bonuses for executives. What’s more, BCBSTX’s leaders’ lousy work ethic permeates the entire dental insurance industry. Compared to BCBSTX executives, AIG executives who kept bonus money should be honored as national heroes. 

BCBSTX Rude to Everyone 

As the Veteran who almost became my patient works to fit him-self back into society, perhaps the next opportunity he has to break away from work for a few hours, he will be lucky enough to come across a dentist who has an NPI number. If things go well, BCBSTX will not have wasted a Veteran’s time twice – and wrecked a dentist’s schedule – for what? BCBSTX has nothing against Veterans in particular, they are rude to everyone.  Since nobody from the company can be held personally accountable, tyranny is as natural as Ponzi schemes.

Attention Texas Employers: 

I wish deceptive business practices which insurance companies use to cheat their clients were against the law in Texas. Attention Texas employers; as a dentist who has witnessed harm from BCBSTX, I warn you not to waste money on their dental plan. BCBSTX’s sales reps cannot be trusted to tell the truth and will aggravate your employees as well as neighborhood dentists. 

Assessment

If BCBSTX gets away with this dishonesty, what other senseless, but profit-enhancing hoops will they demand next year?  How many more dentists and patients can an Attorney General allow them to cheat before speaking up? Come out and fight for your honor, BCBSTX … or not.  I bring more than your best attorney can handle and I am waiting.

Conclusion

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HMO Physician Office Visit Co-Payment Creep

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Patients Showing Doctors the Money [1999–2008]

By Staff Reporters

56371606

Copayment

2008

1999

$5

6%

23%

$10

16%

60%

$15

29%

12%

$20

30%

1%

Other

19%

3%

Source: Kaiser/HRETHRET Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits

www.kff.org

Assessment

Considering the “down and dirty” interest rate “rule of 72”, a twice doubling of copayments from $5 to $20, and a Hewlett-Packard 12-C hand-held financial calculator; allow us to suggest an annual copayment rise of 15% percent for the decade.

Conclusion

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Medicare and Medicaid Health IT Network Proposal

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Governmental Initiative for the Elderly and Poor

By Staff Reporters200298593-001

According to Nancy Ferris of Government Health IT, on Mar 18, 2009, a rapid learning health information data network could close some gaps in medical knowledge and cut costs for Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

A Congressional Letter

In a letter to Congress, a group of health policy experts urged creation of a network to share information on Medicare and Medicaid patients in order to improve treatment received. In particular, Lynn Etheredge, one signatory of the letter, wants information to be shared on “dual eligible’s”. This term is defined as low income, elderly patients who receive money for medical care from both Medicare [Federal] and Medicaid [State] sources.dhimc-book6

www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

According to Etheredge, there are 7 million such dually-eligible patients in the US, which represents 40 percent of Medicaid spending, and 25 percent of Medicare spending. Etheredge and the others suggest that a network backed by government policy would hasten treatments for everyone.

Assessment

Others who signed the letter include Kenneth Kizer, who created the health-records system for the Department of Veteran Affairs; Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis; National Quality Forum [NQF] President and CEO Janet Corrigan and National Committee for Quality Assurance [NCQA] President Margaret O’Kane. 

Link: http://govhealthit.com/articles/2009/03/18/network-for-data-on-medicaid-medicare-patients.aspx

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. One conclusion of this letter was that“[Researchers] spend way too much time simply acquiring data.” Do you agree, why or why not? Please opine. Will networked eHRs, eMRs and eDRs really save money and time; or cost money and time? Can they be inter-operable and connected on a nationally networked basis that is cost-effective, secure and available to all providers? What about CCHIT, and other vendors?

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This Time the Hospital Financial Crisis is Different

Posted on March 19, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Oh Really … No so Fast!

Submitted by J. Wayne Firebaugh, Jr; CPA, CFP®, CMP™ho-journal2

Dr. Malcolm T. MacEachern, Director of Hospital Activities for the American College of Surgeons, presciently observed that:

… Our hospitals are now involved in the worst financial crisis they have ever experienced. It is absolutely necessary to all of us to put our heads together and try to find some solution. If we are to have effective results we must have concerted and coordinated immediate action. … Repeated adjustments of expenses to income have been made. Never before has there been such a careful analysis of hospital accounting and study of financial policies. It is entirely possible for us to inaugurate improvements in business methods which will lead to greater ways and means of financing hospitals in the future … It is true that all hospitals have already trimmed their sales to better meet the financial conditions of their respective communities. This has been chiefly through economies of administration. There has been more or less universal reduction in personnel and salaries; many economies have been affected. Everything possible has been done to reduce expenditures but this has not been sufficient to bring about immediate relief in the majority of instances. The continuance of the present economic conditions will force hospitals generally to further action. The time has come when this problem must be given even greater thought, both from its community and from its national aspect…

Source:  Steinberg, C. Overview of the US Healthcare System; American Hospital Association 2003.

Many hospital CXOs, healthcare administrators and physician executives would agree that Dr. MacEachern accurately describes today’s healthcare funding environment. However, they might be startled to learn that Dr. MacEachern made these observations in 1932! There is the old truism that there is nothing new under the sun.

American Hospital Association Statistics

Healthcare statistics suggested that the financial crisis is much the same today as it was for hospitals during the Great Depression. The American Hospital Association’s (AHA) reported gloomy statistics for hospitals include:

  • In 2001, 29% of hospitals had negative total margins.
  • Approximately $101.3 billion of uncompensated care was provided between 1997 and 2001 with an average annual increase of 16% during that time period.
  • Emergency departments in 62% of all hospitals report operating at, or over, capacity.
  • Technology costs are soaring as traditional technologies such as X-Ray machines, for $175,000, are being replaced by contemporary technologies such as CAT Scanners at $1 million that are in turn being replaced by CT Functional Imaging with PET Scans costing $2.3 million. Even such a “simple” instrument as a scalpel that costs $20, is being replaced by equipment for electrocautery costing $12,000, that is then being replaced by harmonic scalpels costing $30,000.
  • Between 2000 and 2002, 33% of hospitals reported increases in liability premiums of more than 100%.
  • The average age of hospital plants has increased 21% from 7.9 years to 9.6 years in just one decade.
  • In the four years ending 2002, hospital bond downgrades have outpaced hospital bond upgrades by almost 5 to 1.

Editor’s Assessment

As editor’s of the premium subscription, two volume, 1,200 pages, institutional print-guide Healthcare Organizations [Financial Management Strategies], we prefer engaged readers and contributors like Mr. Firebaugh, who demand and create compelling content like the above. Please review these links for same.

www.HealthcareFinancials.com

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Conclusion

Always beware the words: “this time it’s different;” as it rarely is. And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Please opine and subscribe to the ME-P here; it’s fast, free and secure.

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About the Convenient Care Association

Posted on March 18, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Developing Best Medical Practices and Retail Operating Standards

By Staff Reporters

horizontal-nurses2The Convenient Care Association [CCA] is comprised of companies, medical providers and healthcare systems that provide patients and consumers with accessible, affordable and quality healthcare in retail-based locations. The CCA works primarily to enhance and sustain the growth of the convenient care industry through sharing of best practices and common standards of operation. It was founded in October 2006.

About CCA

According to their website, the first Convenient Care Clinics [CCCs] opened in 2000, and the industry grew quickly since then. Today there are approximately 1,060 clinics in operation, and CCA member clinics represent more than 95% of the industry. To date, CCCs have served more than 3.5 million patients with its nurse practitioners [NPs] and physician assistants [PAs].

Link: http://www.ccaclinics.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=11

Growth and Expansion

With this rapid expansion, and projected continued growth, it quickly became clear that the shared concerns and needs of both providers and patients could best be served through an association that allowed for: 

  • Sharing best practices, common standards of operation, experiences and ideas.
  • Developing common standards of operation to ensure the highest quality of care.
  • A united voice to advance the needs of CCCs and their customers
  • A unified effort to promote the concept of CCCs, and to respond to questions about this evolving industry.
  • Reaching out to the existing medical community and creating new partnerships.
  • Building synergies with traditional medical service providers.

Assessment

The Public Health Management Corporation [PHMC], a nonprofit public health institute, provides executive management and administrative support for the Convenient Care Association. For more information, contact Tine Hansen-Turton at (215) 731-7140.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Have you ever used a retail medical clinic and what was your experience? Will this business model save primary care medicine?

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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AHRQ Report on Uninsured Hospitalizations

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Differs from Insured Hospitalizations

By Staff Reportershorizontal-nurses

According to Tracey Walker, Senior Editor of Healthcare Executive News on March 13, 2009, the number of uninsured hospitalizations increased by 34%, over the last 10-year period, and the number of Medicaid hospitalizations increased by 36%. However, a newt report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) suggests the number of privately insured hospitalizations remained about the same.

AHRQ Report

According to the report, hospital charges increased for the uninsured faster than for overall hospital charges (76% for compared with 69% for all hospital stays). The average hospital charge for an uninsured stay in 2006 was $19,400 compared to $11,000 in 1997 (after adjusting for inflation). The average length of stay for the uninsured remained the same at about 4 days per hospital visit. Other findings included: 

  • Compared to all hospital stays, uninsured hospitalizations begin in the emergency department much more frequently (60% for the uninsured compared to 44% for all hospital stays).
  • The number of uninsured hospitalizations for skin infections rose sharply over the 10-year period, increasing from about 28,000 stays in 1997 to about 75,000 stays in 2006. Early appropriate outpatient treatment for skin infections can usually prevent the need for hospitalization.
  • There was a 36% increase in hospitalizations billed to Medicaid during the 10-year period.

Assessment

According to AHRQ, on average the costs (not charges) to provide hospital care to the uninsured are about $1,500 less expensive ($6,800 vs. $8,400 per hospital stay) than costs for all other hospital stays.

Assessment

Lack of health insurance has serious consequences on individuals and societies. For example, the uninsured may be more likely to delay or forgo necessary medical care until eventual hospitalization makes care much more expensive. And philosophically,

“As spending on Medicaid increases; the number of uninsured hospitalizations ought to decrease proportionally—adjusted for population increases”

So says, Hope Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™ of www.HealthcareFinancials.com.

“But, this was not the case, and determining exactly why will require more studies.”

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Does a similar inverse relationship hold for public versus private education, housing and transportation?

Why or why not? Some pundits wonder if it is due to private entities having more “skin-in-the game?” Please opine?

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Consumer Directed Health Plan Survey

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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Costs Hold Steady

[By Staff Reporters]

ho-journalAccording to Tracey Walker, Senior Editor of Healthcare Executive News on March 13, 2009, US employers expect healthcare cost increases to hold steady at 6%. Additionally, more plan to adopt consumer-directed health plans [CDHPs] in 2010, in an effort to control health cost increases.

Watson Wyatt – National Business Group Survey on Health

And, a survey by Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health, found that:

  • Approximately half of companies now offer workers a CDHP, up from 47% in 2008, and another 8% are expected to adopt a CDHP by 2010.
  • CDHPs are helping employers control costs—companies with at least half of their workers enrolled in a CDHP have a two-year cost trend (4.6%) that is 25% lower than non-CDHP sponsors (6.1%).
  • Two-thirds of employers (67%) cite the poor health habits of their employees as a considerable challenge to managing their health costs.
  • While companies will be taking a close look at benefit offerings because of the recession, most do not plan major changes.
  • Nearly 30% of employers have revamped their healthcare strategy with another 30% planning to do so in 2009.

Assessment

The growth in CD-HPs has made it more important than ever for health plans to provide their members actionable information and pricing transparency to navigate the healthcare system. According to Dr. David Edward Marcinko;

“Members like our firm – and many others – are incented to be savvy consumers, but that’s a difficult task if not provided with the pricing and related information we need to make wise choices. And, to make matters even worse for lay patients; providers and hospitals are not often keen to supply information about same.”

But, there is some hope according to Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™ of www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com

“The overall transparency milieu today has definitely improved this last decade as we have participated in CDHPs for all our employees.” 

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Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.

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The No Insurance Club

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Emerging Pre-Paid Cash-Based Medicine

By Bob Grove

no-insurance-clubHealthcare in America is in Turmoil. The No Insurance Club [NIC] feels private contracts may be the solution. More and more Americans are going without healthcare especially preventative healthcare. The reasons – costs are too high, patients can’t get accepted due to a pre-existing condition, companies are cutting back on benefits, people have been laid off from work; and the list goes on.

Governmental Solutions 

What’s being done to improve healthcare? Barack Obama and the Government want more control and regulation and the system seems to be leaning toward socialized care. Private insurance companies continue to increase premiums, which prices healthcare out of reach for the average American. Employers can no longer float the cost of insurance so they pass it on to their employees. Patients aren’t the only ones being affected by the current state of healthcare. More and more doctors are going out of business and hospitals are cutting back due to escalating costs and payment defaults.

Private Solutions 

The current remedy; Americans are taking out private major medical policies for catastrophic events with high-deductibles [MSA/HSAs] to keep monthly premiums down, or are turning to Medicaid, mini retail-clinics at grocery stores/pharmacies, and emergency room visits for common illnesses.

Innovative Solutions 

What about prevention and maintenance? More than 90 percent of health related issues can be taken care of with preventative care and maintenance but only a small percentage of Americans currently enjoy the benefit of preventative healthcare.

The No Insurance Club

The NIC has come up with a fresh look at healthcare by offering an affordable alternative to traditional insurance options.

NIC Benefits and Features 

The No Insurance Club connects patients with participating board certified physicians that will treat and care for preventative healthcare needs for a one-time prepaid annual membership fee:

   

  • NIC patients make a one-time annual payment that is typically less than a one-month premium with traditional insurance.
  • Patients receive up to 12 office visits per year that also include immunizations, $4 or less in-office prescriptions, and additional services including blood tests.
  • No deductible, no co-pays, no premiums.
  • No surprise bills to patients.
  • Viable alternative to COBRA for employees laid off from work.
  • Low cost option for the self-employed.

Assessment

What’s in it for the doctors? How about no insurance clerks, no need to snail mail medical insurance claims or use expensive electronic claims submission clearinghouse services, no bad debts or bad expense write-offs, no ARs; and fast cash! 

Link: http://www.noinsuranceclub.com/

I would be happy to speak with and connect ME-P readers, participating doctors and even patients for interviews to learn more about the NIC network and its benefits.

Bob Grove

Wild West PR

(801) 651-0290

bob@wildwestpr.com

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Healthcare Experts versus Health Journalists

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Appreciating the Distinction

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA

Publisher-in-Chiefdr-david-marcinko2

As the healthcare reform, and eMR controversy unfolds, I am struck by the more-than-linguistic distinction between the terms “healthcare expert” and “health journalist.”

Link: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Historical Perspectives

Historically, as a peer-reviewed writer, editor, medical expert witness and now electronic publisher for almost four decades, I always sought the journalist’s title. I think the longing began in my formative years when I read that after the French Revolution, Sir Edmund Burke, looked up at the Press Gallery of the House of Commons, and said, ‘”Yonder sits the Fourth Estate, and they are more important than them all.”

Link: www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com

Expert versus Reporter

However, I no longer covet this title. Why? I’ve finally realized that it is far better to be a real subject-matter expert, than a journalist [read reporter]. The former creates news through knowledge, informed deeds and thought-leadership; while the later simply writes about various topics without same.

Link: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Assessment

And so, in light of the eHR controversy, perhaps a word to the “wise” AMA, ADA, APMA, AOA and CCHIT leadership is sufficient; with apologies to Sir Edmund? Regardless of specialty, our guiding medical principles should always be; Omnia pro Aegroto [all for the patient].

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/01/31/about-the-ahcj/

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Video about Gaming4Health

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

A Health Care – Gaming Industry – Social Network

By Staff Writers 

mac-computer2Gaming4Health is an interactive social network for the health care industry. The company provides its’ community with the information, resources and services to support the adoption of healthy gaming as a means to improve health education, condition management, fitness and quality of life.

The Social Network

The communities established by the users of the network site allow people with similar health goals, conditions, research ideas or challenges to communicate with other like-minded people from all over the world. It also facilitates interaction and commerce between researchers and developers of healthy games, devices and resources and health and wellness organizations.

The Experts

The G4H network of experts in the medical, fitness, rehabilitation, weight-loss, simulation and other fields supposedly provide the most up-to-date information, resources, research and solutions in the healthy gaming industry.

The Competitor

Games for Health is a competitor. And, in business circles, it is said that competition makes a market. Games for Health develops best practice platforms for the numerous games being built for health care applications. To date the project has brought together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games on medicine.

Link: www.gamesforhealth.org

Assessment

Additionally, the firms’ GameBase is the most robust and current database of healthy games available – including basic information on every game (company, contact, price, etc.), demos and other downloads, as well as plenty of community feedback, ratings and reviews.

Videos: http://www.gaming4health.com

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Virtual reality and related simulation software, especially when used to desensitize patients with various phobias and obsessive compulsive disorders, is an accepted theory and clinical psychological practice. Will this gaming concept become same? Is it cost effective with a positive ROI? Should it be a covered service under health insurance policies? Any input or thoughts from our early adopter ME-P subscribers?

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Sherlock Health Plan Management Navigator

Posted on March 6, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Information System Implications on Health Plans

By Douglas B. Sherlock; MBA, CFAcomputer-hardware

Messrs. and Mesdames

Attached, please find the February 2009 edition of our Health Plan Management Navigator.
Link: sherlock-company

The Sherlock Expense Evaluation Report

In this month’s edition, we endeavor to better understand the functional area of information systems [IS] and its implications on health plans. Information systems, based on the results from out 2008 Sherlock Expense Evaluation Report (SEER) displayed overall anti-scalability in costs. In order to better comprehend IS and its influence on health plans overall, we performed numerous analyses that looked at relationships between IS and other aspects, such as scalability, variety of product offerings, commitment to ASO products and other functional areas.

Assessment

The results suggest that scale does not appear to play a role in IS costs and that more of a concentration in ASO products seemed to lower IS costs. It also appears that management of information systems, in the context of its support to other functional areas, is an inexact science.

Conclusion

Additional information about SEER is available at www.sherlockco.com/seer.shtml or; by contacting me at: sherlock@sherlockco.com

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Problems with HIT in Minnesota

Posted on March 6, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

The Continuing eHR Saga

By Darrell K. Pruitt; DDSpruitt2

If you were one of fifty governors who decide to jump off a cliff because flying looks so cool, would you proudly race to be the first to grab the air? Blissfully, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is way ahead of the pack. He’s so confident in healthcare information technology [IT]  that he doesn’t even have to watch where he’s going – leaving him free to smile for the cameras. Now that’s cool.

Initial Ambitious Plans

Attention ME-P readers! Please gather around to watch a world-class belly-flop of a gutsy statewide eHR mandate. A few years ago, Governor Pawlenty had ambitious plans to lead the nation with an interoperable eHR system that was touted to include all providers – that means Minnesota dentists as well. Your landing could be vertical and abrupt, Pawlenty.

CCHIT Approved? 

In fairness to a brick, back in 2005 Pawlenty could not have predicted the economic collapse that began three years later, nor could he have known about the subsequent $19 billion eHR money that would be made available to providers – but only if they purchase healthcare IT software that is approved by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT).

CCHIT Laggards 

Even if the descending Pawlenty could have predicted the recent changes in the terrain, including the CCHIT qualification, he would have never guessed that to this day in March of 2009, the certifying commission would still be yet to certify even one single electronic dental record – thereby blocking Minnesota dentists from copious federal help in their efforts to become compliant in Pawlenty’s brave new state.

“The government is actually looking for places to spend the money where there is a strong likelihood of success stories”.

–Mike Ubl

Executive Director Minnesota Health Information Exchange

[Owned by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, HealthPartners, Medica, Fairview Health Services, UCare and the Minnesota Department of Health].

Link: http://www.twincities.com/ci_11830085

“And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins – When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins”.

-Rudyard Kipling

The CCHIT qualification was incredibly bad luck for Pawlenty’s nifty ideas of interoperability with all providers. When Minnesota dentists discover that they must pay $30 thousand for software they don’t want in order to practice in paradise, some may just swallow their pride, sell the portable ice-fishing house, and move to slow-moving Iowa.

Dentists, MDA and the ADA News

Why the surprisingly quick landing? If Pawlenty actually gave any consideration for dentistry at all, just like everyone else, he must have assumed that dentists’ concerns about digital records would be adequately attended to by the Minnesota Dental Association [MDA] and the American Dental Association. It was easy to make that mistake because of the enthusiasm for eDRs radiating from ADA Headquarters and expressed in confident terms in ADA News Online articles that have since stopped appearing.  Most eDR enthusiasts naturally assumed that by now the majority of dentists in the nation would be saving money, lives and trees with paperless practices. However, the ADA has been nowhere to be found for a long time. As it turns out, the professional organization has still not yet even contacted the certifying commission. We know this, because when I personally contacted CCHIT a few weeks ago, it caught them off guard. I was told that I was one of the first to ever mention dentistry.

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/cchit-is-prejudiced-and-lacks-diversity-%e2%80%93-an-indictmen

No Endorsements

To show how far the ADA has slipped, and as an example of its flagging influence on membership, I doubt that more than 5% of American dentists have made the ADA-endorsed leap from paper to digital. Why should they? It makes good business sense to wait, and most dentists are not techno-silly. Consider this; Even if a dentist is happy with a costly eDR system that demanded unanticipated time and effort to learn, in less than a year, CCHIT could determine that his or her favorite system is not worthy of certification because it does not integrate with physicians’ one-size-fits-all, CCHIT-certified eMRs. Tough luck, Minnesota dentists! Uncertified eDRs will be outlawed, while favored, large healthcare IT companies in Madison and Chicago will profit and pay more state taxes with Twin-Cities’ dollars. By then, all the stimulus money will be gone and lawmakers will no longer be giddy about eHRs due to the imminent explosion of data breaches everywhere caused by moving too fast. No return on investment [ROI] there. 

Assessment 

Still, Tim Pawlenty could have never known, yet away he sails with a stupid grin on his face.

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Introducing Douglas B. Sherlock MBA CFA

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

About Our Newest Thought-Leader

By Ann Miller; RN, MHAcap-and-gown

Douglas B. Sherlock CFA is President of Sherlock Company which assists health plans, their business partners and their investors in the treasury and control functions of finance.

Resume

Prior to the founding of Sherlock Company, Mr. Sherlock was Vice President of Financial Analysis of U.S. Healthcare, Inc. where he directed the company’s merger and joint venture activity, its investor relations program and its HMO product for Medicare beneficiaries. Sherlock was formerly Vice President of Salomon Brothers, Inc where he specialized in the financial research of prepaid health plans and hospital systems, and assisted in the capital formation and merger activities of health care companies. He was the Greenwich Survey First Place HMO Analyst and a runner-up in the Institutional Investor polls. 

Professional Associations and Memberships

Mr. Sherlock is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He has been a member of the Financial Accounting Policy Committee of the CFA Institute. He has served on the Editorial Board of Inquiry, a journal of health care organization, provision and financing published by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and is a reviewer for Chartered Financial Analyst. He has been a member of the Financial Accounting Policy Committee. Sherlock is a frequent speaker before health care groups including the American Association of Health Plans, the HealthCare Financial Management Association, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The research of Sherlock Company has recently been cited in such periodicals as The New York Times, Forbes, Investor’s Business Daily, Modern Healthcare, Hospitals, The Wall Street Journal, HMO Managers Letter, Business Week and The Medical Business Journal.

Educational Background

Mr. Sherlock holds an M.B.A. in finance from Loyola College in Maryland. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Conclusion

We look forward to his contributions and now professionally welcome him warmly, as our newest ME-P thought-leader. 

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About the Hospital Debt Justice Project

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Aggressive Debt Collectors Take to the Web

By Staff Reportersradar2

Thousands of patients face crippling debt to hospitals and healthcare systems across the country; even though they may have qualified for free care.

www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Yale-New Haven Health System

Now, the Yale-New Haven Health System, Yale-New Haven Hospital and Bridgeport Hospitals are pursuing aggressive debt-collection practices—including liens, wage garnishments and foreclosures—even though they have millions of dollars set aside for free care for patients who can’t pay. Others have colossal endowments as well, and often pay their CEOs handsomely.

Assessment

But, according to their website, the Hospital Debt Justice Project is only fighting for fair treatment and accountability from our community hospitals.

Link: http://www.hospitaldebtjustice.org

Industry Indignation Index: 85

Conclusion

Your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Isn’t it a charity hospital standard that not-for-profits typically charge the poor and indigent up to four times the UCR of insured patients? Your experiences are welcomed. 

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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New-Wave Medical Quality Resources

Posted on March 1, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Beyond Traditional Administrative Databases

Staff Reporters

ho-journal15Physician blogger, and Harvard University CTO, John Halamka MD recently opined about some emerging new medical quality data sources for the industry.

Traditional Sources

As all ME-P subscribers know, traditional data sources are derived from, and usually include, administrative claims data information aggregated from many sources and silos.

www.HealthcareFinancials.com

Emerging Sources

But, newer sources of data for medical quality analysis go beyond administrative data and includes electronic repositories like eHRs, PHRs, eMRs and Healthcare Information Exchange [HIE] resources, where available.

www.HealthDictionarySeries.com

Assessment

For a few more examples:

Link: http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2009/02/index.html

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post, and original post, are appreciated.

Are these database silos secure, and do patients know that, or how, their hopefully blinded information is redacted and used?  Will the health insurance industry use this information to further “slice and dice” ratings levels for their insured’s? Will it then be securitized, re-aggregated and resold again for non-healthcare related purposes like home, auto or life insurance; or other yet to be developed risk-management products and services?

Is this transparent and fair to patients? What are the legal and ethical implications, if any? Thought leaders please opine?

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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The Future of Hospitals

Posted on February 28, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Between a “Rock and Hard Place”

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

By Hope Rachel Hetico; RN, MHA, CMP™rock-and-hard-place

A recent white paper by the Joint Commission suggests that hospitals must respond in new ways to meet the increasing complexity of patient care and to address rising health care costs. Duh! What an insight. Why did it take so long for them to declare same?

 

The Hospital Accreditation Competition Heats-Up

Was it because of competition from DNV Healthcare Inc? Was it their new ability to determine if hospitals are in compliance with Medicare Conditions of Participation [COP]? DNV joins the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations [JCAHO], and the American Osteopathic Association [AOA], as the only national hospital accrediting agency approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [CMS].

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/hospital-accreditation

Recommendations

Nevertheless, the JCAHO report recommends action in five areas:

  • Economic viability and ROI
  • Technology adoption and use
  • Patient-centered collaborative care
  • Medical and human resources staffing
  • Hospital architectural design

Patient Centered-Philosophy

Of course, it is no surprise that patient-centered care should be philosophically at the core of any partnership between a patient and his/her hospital and medical providers. Yet, just think of the last time you saw your HMO doctor and tried to engage in a collaborative health 2.0 discussion with him/her? Na-da!

Health Information Technology

The Joint Commission, despite the interoperable eHR controversy often presented on this blog, suggests that technology adoption can play a major role in improving patient care, safety and quality.

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/the-case-against-inter-operable-ehrs

This transformation from paper to electronic records, according to the report, will involve:

  • Making the business case for ROI and funding
  • Redesigning business processes with HIT implementation
  • Extending the digital footprint to the “medical-home”
  • Engaging IT leaders for guidance on prior mistakes 
  • Improve workflow – minimize labor intensive activities

Of Hospital “Insider” Administrators

One local hospital administrator insider, here in Atlanta, confidentially tells us that a single hospital bed is currently worth about a million bucks a year to the institution; private or public. And, the mantra of most hospital CEOs to staff doctors, is: “fill the beds”; “schedule the procedures”; and/or “book the operating rooms.”  So, the priorities outlined in the report really don’t seem appropriate; do they?

IOW: Put the hospital first; not the patient? And, this echoed our experience in hospital administration two decades ago. Has anything changed?

Assessment

Nevertheless, it may be refreshing to see an approach to healthcare technology implementation that seems to leverage the experience and knowledge of other industries. Privacy concerns however, are the biggest obstacle to HIT and true inter-operable eMRs, in our opinion. Yet, it doesn’t need to be. Who cares if grandma has a bunion, or dad had his cataracts repaired. They aren’t running for public office; are they?

The road to the Hospital of the Future will be bumpy, but we are hopeful enough to trust the benefits will be great once we arrive.

Full report: hosptals-future 

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Are hospitals today “between a rock and hard place?” Is technology and business process reorganization being offered as a substitute for critical thinking and true collaborative medicine? Especially, in light of the healthcare capitalistic thrust to: “do more – in order to earn more.”

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Big Blue and UHG’s New Health Plan Model

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

Innovative Model -or- Just another Paradigm Shift

By Staff Reporters56372274

According to Reed Abelson, and David Kadlubowski of the electronic New York Times [NYT].com edition, on February 6, 2009, a new medical practice business plan and health care insurance reimbursement model could allow family physicians to practice medicine the way they used to practice. How so?

Exit UHG

The giant insurer UnitedHealth Group is testing a new model of health care that some policy experts say holds great promise, but has yet to prove itself. An earlier trial of the model by UnitedHealth, in Florida, never got off the ground because doctors refused to participate.

Enter IBM

This time however, the insurer is teaming up with seven doctors’ groups to make another attempt, in Arizona, at the prodding of one of the state’s big employers, and IBM. UnitedHealth will try giving doctors more authority and money than usual in return for closely monitoring their patients’ progress, even when patients go to specialists or require hospitalization.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/07/business/07medhome.html?_r=3&ref=health

Moving toward Value-Added Models and Episodes of Care

The insurer will also move away from paying doctors solely on the basis of how many services they provide via CPT® codes and will start rewarding them more for overall quality of patient care [value added and/or episodes of care model].

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/01/28/a-medical-payment-paradigm-shift

Assessment

One comment heard through the grapevine was “caveat and vendor emptor”; while another sarcastic observer wondered if this was the same “Useless Healthcare Group that we all despise?” And, who is to define the term “medical quality -or- value added care”?

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Early-adopter insight and reports from Arizona participating practitioners is appreciated.

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com

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Dismal World Video-View of American Healthcare

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

BBC Documentary Takes on Obama’s Plan

Staff ReportersUS Capitol 

Did you know that a new British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] documentary takes on newly elected President Barack S. Obama’s plans for American health care system?

Emotional Pleas Tug at Citizenry Heart Strings

According to Nick Cargo – of the BBC on January 25 – a January 19th episode of BBC’s One’s Panorama, the world’s longest running television documentary show, tackles the dismal state of health care in the United States. Of course, it emotionally parses on the lengths to which our estimated [high-side] 45 million uninsured citizens [only 8 million remain uninsured for 2 years, or more] go in pursuit of care, the pharmaceutical industry’s rigged pricing against the American patient, and the insurance industry’s efforts to deny care whenever possible.

About Health Care for America Now

According to documentary comments regarding freedom-of-choice in our medical care; “It’s really a system of legalized bribery,” said Richard Kirsch of Healthcare for America Now. “As one congressman says, we’re the only people in the world who are expected to take money from strangers and provide nothing in return.”

Health Care for America Now is a national grassroots campaign organizing millions of Americans to win a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all. Their goal is to create organizations that can mobilize people at work, at home, in their neighborhoods, and online www.healthcareforamericanow.org

Assessment

Due to licensing restrictions, the Panorama episode, “What Now, Mr. President?” is not for domestic consumption and is only officially available to view online from connections within the United Kingdom. However, it has also been uploaded to YouTube, where it appears in three parts below.

Video: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/BBC_documentary_takes_on_Obamas_plans_0125.html

Conclusion

And so, your thoughts and comments on this Medical Executive-Post are appreciated. Watch the video and decide for yourself; then opine here. Is the BBC view equal to the world view of US healthcare modernity?

Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com  or Bio: www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm

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Hospital Cafeteria Plan Elections

Posted on February 19, 2009 by Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA MEd CMP™

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On Health and Dependent Care

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™

[Publisher-in-Chief]

DEM 2013

I wrote a bit about hospital cafeteria plans in an earlier blog post.

Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2008/04/02/hospital-cafeteria-plans/

Now, any hospital, or other employee given the opportunity to participate in a cafeteria plan should consider the following important two elections; health and dependent care.

Healthcare [Working Spouse]

If the employee is married and has a spouse who also works, and the employer-provided health benefits are better under the spouse’s plan, then the employee should elect to be covered by the spouse’s plan and choose another nontaxable benefit or a cash benefit that would be taxable under his or her own cafeteria plan, such as dependent-care coverage or group term insurance coverage. Switching health insurance requires planning to eliminate potential gaps in coverage created by insurance enrollment criteria. If the employee does not need the salary or cafeteria-plan benefits to meet current expenses, he or she should consider contributing the cash to a 401(k) plan and defer the tax liability.

Healthcare [Non-Working Souse]

If the employee has no working spouse and the employee’s plan is the only source for certain health benefits, the employee should consider what type of benefits he or she really needs for his or her family. In other words, can the employee get the necessary benefits under the company plan cheaper than he or she could individually, after taking into account that individual coverage will be paid with after-tax dollars, whereas under a cafeteria plan such benefits can be paid with before-tax dollars?

For example, if an employee who is in the 30% tax bracket is provided a $6,000 plan by her employer. He or she would have to be able to get a comparable plan independently for only  $3,741 to be in the same position on an after-tax basis. ($6,000 minus income taxes of $1,800 = $4,200, $4,200  minus $459 of avoided FICA

Dependent-Care

An employee who has a choice of including dependent-care costs may be entitled to an income-tax credit for such expenses if, the employer does not reimburse them. Thus, if a credit is worth the same or more than the payment under the cafeteria plan, the employee may choose to contribute those dollars toward additional health or life insurance.

Assessment

There is no doubt why healthcare and dependent care are the two most important cafeteria plan election determinants that clients seek in our advisory practice. The issues are that vital to all employees.

Conclusion

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