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where we cover interesting and relevant news, insights, events, and more related to the health care industry and pMD. Most importantly, this blog is a fun, engaging way to learn about developments in an ever-changing field that is heavily influenced by technology.

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Here's The Latest in Health Care:


• According to a new survey, nearly three-quarters of hospitals and health systems in the US have been actively engaging with revenue cycle management optimization during the pandemic through RCM technology. RCM was one of the areas in health care that largely moved to remote work once the pandemic hit, which many hospitals and health systems are considering making more permanent.  Read More

• CMS is proposing a series of changes to their Promoting Interoperability Program, the successor to meaningful use, designed to bolster the response to public health emergencies such as COVID-19. The agency plans to amend program stipulations for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals, broadening requirements focused on public health and clinical data exchange.  Read More

• New research shows that critical care nurses' overall health is linked to the number of medical errors they reported. 67 percent of nurses with higher stress scores reported making medical errors in the last five years, more than 10 percent more than the nurses with lower stress scores.  Read More

• For the first time, the majority of physicians worked outside of physician-owned practices in 2020, as doctors continue to gravitate toward employment by hospitals and other organizations, according to the American Medical Association (AMA). A number of factors, including the growing complexity of health care, new Medicare regulations around value-based purchasing, and insurer prior authorizations have contributed to making these employment arrangements increasingly more desirable.  Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, medical billing,  revenue cycle management, telehealth, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
Health Care news

Here's The Latest in Health Care:


• After years of holdout, health care organizations are coming around to treating individuals less like patients and more like consumers. On the provider side, that’s meant expanding beyond traditional services and into new primary, specialty, and acute care delivery approaches enabled by new virtual care technologies.  Read More

• The COVID-19 pandemic created a host of challenges for revenue cycle management leaders, from widespread service line shutdowns to shifting staff to work at home and increasing self-pay balances. Gaining a clear picture of A/R productivity is crucial to managing denials and increasing collections for revenue cycle management success.  Read More

• Aligned with their physician counterparts, nurses graded EHR usability an “F,” and respondents also revealed a high level of burnout, according to a new study. In fact, almost half of the nurses experienced burnout, which health care professionals connect to low EHR usability. Improved EHR usability can lead to higher EHR adoption rates, fewer clinical errors, less clinician burnout, financial benefits, and improved patient safety.  Read More

• The pandemic accelerated "hospital at home" programs, which use remote monitoring and telehealth technologies to provide patients with hospital-level care without the risks and costs associated with hospital stays. Health system innovation executives are particularly excited about the emergence of hospitals at home and how technology can shape the future of the care model.  Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, medical billing,  revenue cycle management, telehealth, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
Health Care news

Here's The Latest in Health Care:


• Telehealth investment hit an all-time high of $4.2 billion in the first quarter of 2021, almost doubling the $2.2 billion raised in the same quarter a year ago. That's the highest global funding for telehealth during one quarter on record, which also represents an increase of 18% from the $3.6 billion raised in the fourth quarter of 2020. Clearly, investors are betting on telehealth to continue to play a large role in care delivery moving forward.  Read More

• Landmark data-sharing regulations from HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and CMS seek to tie healthcare providers and patients across the care continuum closer together—but historical disparities in technology adoption between health care sectors could pose challenges for providers in post-acute and long-term care settings.  Read More

• Round two of the COVID-19 telehealth program, which is a $249.95 million federal initiative that builds on the $200 million program established as part of the CARES Act, will open the application portal on April 29th. This round contains a number of tweaks, including a system for rating applicants that prioritizes hard-hit and low-income areas, tribal communities, and those in provider shortage areas.  Read More

• CMS has announced the suspension of the Medicare sequester cuts, which was set to expire April 1st, will now last through the end of the year, and that it will release all claims held since the start of April. In addition to the extension, the new law also contains other health care measures, including technical corrections related to rural health clinics and disproportionate share hospitals.  Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, medical billing,  revenue cycle management, telehealth, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
Health Care news

Here's The Latest in Health Care:


• The goal of hospitals should be to always provide patients with a positive experience. New research by Press Ganey found that while common themes run through the experiences of happy patients, there is much more variation when it comes to the experiences of unhappy patients. The findings demonstrate that preventing negative experiences requires the same kind of vigilance needed to prevent the vast range of potential safety problems.  Read More

• Over the last few years, there has been an estimated 20 percent increase in hospitals and health systems considering physicians as candidates in their CEO searches. It’s become apparent that physicians with the right training and experience could learn a lot about hospital operations and bring with them the much-needed clinical and front-line experience.  Read More

• Before the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth was more of a novelty than a necessity. The concept of touching base with a doctor remotely was promising, but there were hurdles. Now, almost 90 percent of Americans want to continue using telehealth for non-urgent consultations after COVID-19 has passed.  Read More

• The Mayo Clinic has launched a new initiative to collect and analyze patient data from remote monitoring devices and diagnostic tools to accelerate diagnoses and disease prediction using artificial intelligence (AI). The platform will deliver clinical decision support tools, diagnostic insights, and care recommendations to help clinicians make faster and more accurate diagnoses.  Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, medical billing,  revenue cycle management, telehealth, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
Health Care news


Here's The Latest in Health Care:


• As telehealth continues to play an important role in meeting the demands of patients and a strained health care workforce, it’s critical that providers get patients on board with using the technology for the long term. Its future adoption, however, heavily depends on the ability to support a trusting relationship between patients and physicians.  Read More

• According to a new survey, slow prior authorization protocols directly contributed to care delivery delays and poor treatment outcomes for some patients during the surge in COVID-19 cases last winter. Nearly all physicians surveyed said they spent 16 hours on average seeking prior authorization for patient care, which delayed treatment.  Read More

• CMS has begun recouping the accelerated and advance Medicare payments from providers who borrowed the emergency funds to battle COVID-19. During the recoupment period, CMS will hold back a portion of new Medicare claims from providers until the payments advanced last year are recouped. Providers are required to have paid back the advanced payments in full 20 months after they received the first payment. If they fail to do so, CMS will charge an interest of four percent on the remaining balance.  Read More

• The pandemic has accelerated a growing desire among providers and even some medical technology manufacturers to acquire or get into the surgery center business, experts say. One of the biggest drivers of this shift has been eroding patient volumes at hospitals due to fears of contracting COVID-19.  Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, medical billing,  revenue cycle management, telehealth, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
Health Care news


Here's The Latest in Health Care:


• Telehealth proved its mettle this past year. Now more hospitals and health systems are looking to expand their efforts beyond video visit-based virtual care, and push for expanded remote patient monitoring programs such as acute care at home. But some big questions still need ironing out, as regulations and reimbursement mechanisms are in major flux.  Read More

• The industry-wide conversation around prior authorizations is both complicated and contentious. They are considered useful for preventing adverse health events but a headache for providers. In order to soothe the controversies around prior authorizations, payers and providers may turn to electronic prior authorizations for faster care delivery, lowered provider burden, and an overall better patient experience.  Read More

• Telehealth use among surgeons for patient visits soared in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. While rates of telehealth use have declined as in-person care has resumed, telehealth use remains substantially higher across all surgical specialties than it was prior to the pandemic according to a new study.  Read More

• 2020 offered a perfect storm for cybercriminals, with the number of ransomware attempts against the health care industry rising by 123%. Ransomware attacks cost the healthcare industry $20.8 billion in downtime last year, which is double the number from 2019. In addition, more than 18 million patient records were impacted by these ransomware attacks, a 470% increase from 2019.  Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, medical billing,  revenue cycle management, telehealth, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
Health Care news


Here's The Latest in Health Care:


• One year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic upended life as we know it, some revenue cycles were better positioned than others to deal with the demands of the emergency. Organizations that had revenue cycle analytics, denial management tools, employees working remotely, and automated check-in processes in place at the beginning of 2020 were perhaps better positioned than other organizations to manage the operational demands of the pandemic.  Read More

• People on dialysis who contract COVID-19 are at far greater risk for serious illness and death, so now, dialysis centers will be getting thousands of COVID-19 vaccine doses to vaccinate their patients and employees. The doses will be provided directly to dialysis centers for patients who receive treatment at least three times a week.  Read More

• According to a new Kaufman Hall analysis, nearly 40% of hospitals could operate in the red this year even if the vaccine rollout is smooth and COVID-19 hospitalizations decline. The analysis, conducted on behalf of the American Hospital Association (AHA), gives a glimpse of the lingering financial impact of the pandemic on hospitals.  Read More

• CMS has opened applications for the second cohort of the Primary Care First (PCF) value-based payment model which seeks to drive down costs and increase the quality of care. the PCF model will explore if switching from fee-for-service to Medicare performance-based payments could increase the quality of care and reduce overall Medicare costs.  Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, medical billing,  revenue cycle management, telehealth, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
Health Care news


Here's The Latest in Health Care:


• U.S. vaccination efforts have gotten a big boost, thanks to increased supply. As of Wednesday, 147 million COVID-19 vaccination shots had been delivered, with roughly 39 million people, or 8 percent of the population, having been fully vaccinated. By the end of March, the number of shots produced is expected to be at least 200 million, and by summer it is expected to hit 700 million, according to HHS.  Read More

• Many of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s value-based care payment models are currently undergoing a review. CMS quietly updated and delayed several payment models, including pulling a controversial model that ties payments to geographic health outcomes.  Read More

• New research has revealed that staggering numbers of health care workers, more than one in five, have experienced anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder during the pandemic. While North America ranked the lowest of all regions, it still saw nearly 15 percent of health care workers experiencing anxiety and close to 20 percent experiencing depression.  Read More

• In 2020, at least 600 clinics, hospitals, and health care organizations were hit with ransomware attacks. These attacks affected more than 18 million patient records, and cost almost $21 billion in lawsuits, ransom paid, lost revenue, fees to rebuild lost data and more. Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, medical billing,  revenue cycle management, telehealth, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
Health Care news

Source: Getty Images

Here's The Latest in Health Care:


• Physician reimbursement for services performed by a doctor working for a hospital or health system is significantly higher than that paid to independent physicians for the same services. According to a new study, Medicare physician reimbursement would have been $114K higher per physician a year if the doctor was integrated with a hospital system.  Read More

• Cybercriminals continue to see health care as one of the biggest, most lucrative targets for attacks. According to The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), the exponential growth of the digital transformation of health care makes cybersecurity more important than ever and organizations should act now to protect patient data by replacing outdated software and instituting cybersecurity training and drills.  Read More

• Over the next decade, Gen Z is expected to account for an estimated 61 million new employees in the global workforce, the majority of whom have never lived without the internet, smartphones, and immediate access to information and products. This is leading organizations to significantly adapt to new digital preferences and patient experiences.   Read More

• The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and the American Board of Telehealth (ABT) are partnering to expand access to training and education for virtual care. The partnership comes on the heels of the ABT's recently launched CORE Concepts in Telehealth Certificate, which consists of seven telemedicine-focused training models. As part of the collaboration, members of the ATA will receive discounted access to the ABT's certificate programs.  Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, medical billing,  revenue cycle management, telehealth, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
Health Care news


Here's The Latest in Health Care:


• As the pandemic has created the need to optimize health care delivery, nursing and clinical leadership will need to address three major problem areas; workforce management, capacity management, and patient outcomes. While problems in these areas were present long before the pandemic, the events of the last year have brought them clearly into focus.  Read More

• Telemedicine implemented without attention to workflow runs the serious risk of falling into an unsafe “doctor-does-it-all” model. The AMA recently published some recommendations to help provide patient-centered care and create an overall better telehealth experience for patients and physicians.  Read More

• CMS will automatically apply the extreme and uncontrollable circumstances policies to all MIPS eligible clinicians for the 2020 performance period because of COVID-19. The automatic exception policy, however, will not apply automatically to MIPS eligible clinicians who submit 2020 performance data as an individual in two or more performance categories or whose practice reports as a group. Read More

• Medicare physician spending declined $9.4 billion, or 19%, in the first six months of 2020 due to the pandemic, according to a new report. While spending on physician services declined precipitously, telehealth claims increased dramatically after the federal government increased flexibility for physicians to get reimbursed by Medicare.  Read More

Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, medical billing,  revenue cycle management, telehealth, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
Health Care news



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