Digital healthcare and telehealth are at the top pf the list of healthcare trends in 2021.  Leading healthcare organizations have invested significantly in digital healthcare, expanding services and optimizing patient outcomes.  Other healthcare organizations are already falling behind. Since digital healthcare isn’t going away any time soon, that’s a problem.  Today, we’re highlighting some of the best digital healthcare strategies you can use to optimize revenue.  Revenue Optimization Strategy #1) Embrace Cloud Infrastructure   Cloud infrastructure is an investment that has quickly paid dividends for healthcare organizations across the country.  In the last year, cloud infrastructure has allowed providers to rapidly deploy field hospitals, providing services wherever those services can safely be […]

Lean Six Sigma is a business optimization method that focuses on eliminating defects.   In healthcare, defects can be the difference between life and death. That’s why many healthcare organizations have implemented Lean Six Sigma principles.  When properly implemented, Lean Six Sigma optimizes every stage of patient care – from revenue cycles to patient outcomes.   Today, we’re explaining how Lean Six Sigma works in healthcare – and how it can help your organization eliminate defects.   What is Lean Six Sigma?   Lean Six Sigma is a method that emphasizes a collaborative team effort for improving performance and reducing inefficiencies.  The method is based on lean manufacturing techniques. If you’re familiar with lean healthcare practices, then Lean Six Sigma may […]

Telehealth isn’t going away any time soon.   Telehealth was surging before the pandemic – and the pandemic pushed telehealth to new levels.   As telehealth rises in popularity, organizations are implementing telehealth in different ways. Some are investing billions into telehealth. Others are getting left behind.  Today, we’re highlighting the most important telehealth trends for 2021, including some of the rising and falling movements we’ve seen from telehealth in recent months.  1) A Growing Emphasis on Preventative Health for Patients and Families  The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of family health. Moving forward, we’re seeing families put a renewed emphasis on protecting themselves and their loved ones.  As the dust settles on the COVID-19 pandemic, families want to prepare […]

Healthcare Organization can maximize revenue using Strategies Firms It’s been challenging for some healthcare organizations to keep up. However, by implementing certain strategies today, your healthcare organization can maximize revenue in 2021 and beyond.  How are today’s top organizations optimizing revenue? Today, we’re highlighting some of the strategies firms are using to get ahead.  Securing Domestic Manufacturing of Medicine, Supplies, and Equipment  The COVID-19 pandemic showed how fragile international supply lines can be. As the COVID-19 pandemic surged, countries with domestic medical manufacturing facilities reigned supreme.  Countries that had traditionally relied on China for PPE, for example, were suddenly unable to procure necessary amounts of equipment. Others struggled with drug supply […]

Many healthcare organizations struggle to retain talent. Unfortunately, this leads to big losses. A median turnover in the emergency medical services (EMS) space costs an agency $72,000, according to Prehospital Emergency Care. Meanwhile, the average cost of a turnover for a bedside RN is $52,100, causing the average hospital to lose $4.4 million to $6.9 million. Some healthcare organizations spend 5% of their annual operating budget on employee turnover and related expenses. By emphasizing employee retention and minimizing patient turnover, healthcare organizations can save millions of dollars per year. Today, we’re explaining why employees leave – and how today’s top healthcare organizations are attracting and retaining top talent. Top 3 […]

Rural hospitals are closing across the country. Naysayers may say it’s the end of rural healthcare as we know it. However, many hospitals are flipping this trend on its head. America’s best rural hospitals are thriving in uncertain times by expanding care, taking advantage of telemedicine, and specializing in in-demand areas. By taking this approach, rural hospitals have grown revenue even when dealing with aging populations, higher-than-average Medicare patient totals, and other challenges that have sunk competing providers. Today, we’re exploring four more rural hospital success stories from small towns across the United States. Gold Beach, Oregon Hospital Increases Services, Becomes Economic Driver for Region Gold Beach, Oregon is a […]

Healthcare organizations have many opportunities to train employees and enhance organizational revenue. By taking advantage of these opportunities, healthcare organizations can significantly improve their bottom line. From lean healthcare workshops to continuing education programs to other professional training systems, employee training opportunities can enhance organizational revenue in various ways. Today, we’re exploring some of the best employee training opportunities for small and large healthcare organizations. Lean Healthcare Workshops Lean healthcare workshops can singlehandedly change an organization’s bottom line. The idea of running a lean organization is nothing new in and out of healthcare – but healthcare organizations across the country are increasingly taking advantage of lean healthcare workshops to implement […]

Rural hospitals face considerable challenges throughout the country. While some rural hospitals thrive in challenging situations, others falter. Today, we’re highlighting some of the best success stories of rural hospitals across America, including situations where ingenuity, creativity, and flexibility saved small hospitals in rural settings. Rural Hospital in Beatrice, Nebraska Specializes in Healthcare for Older Adults Rural areas of America tend to have older populations than urban areas. This increases challenges for rural hospitals. It’s hard enough running a small, rural hospital. These challenges increase with older populations who have larger, more complicated healthcare needs – and who also tend to be Medicare patients. Despite these challenges, a small hospital […]

5 Ways Physicians Can Benefit from Healthcare Consulting Most people assume healthcare consulting benefits the organization – not necessarily the physicians within that organization. However, that’s not true. Physicians can and do benefit from healthcare consulting. Physicians experience actionable improvements from healthcare consulting. These improvements can benefit the organization’s bottom line, improve patient care, and make it easier for physicians to do their job. Today, we’re explaining some of the ways physicians can benefit from healthcare consulting whether running a small practice or working for a larger organization. Charge Capture Reviews Identify Missed Revenue Opportunities Healthcare consultants conduct charge capture reviews. You may not know how much you’re losing in […]

ICD-11 Medical Coding: How to Prepare your Healthcare Organization for ICD-11 Healthcare organizations in the United States and around the world use the ICD-10 medical coding standard. Starting in 2022, however, organizations will switch to the ICD-11 standard. ICD-11 has four times as many codes as ICD-10. That means new challenges for healthcare providers – and new problems with missed revenue, coding errors, and denied claims. Keep reading to discover some of the significant changes in ICD-11 medical coding, including how your organization can prepare for the release of ICD-11. What is ICD-11? The World Health Organization has created the ICD-10 medical coding standard, which is currently in use in […]