Road to value begins with addressing social determinants of health
Lance Robertson, a former HHS leader, is encouraged by the federal response to the nation’s need to address problems such as health inequity, increased health risk and avoidable high costs for populations that are adversely affected by social determinants of health (SDoH). He sees addressing SDoH as a necessary preliminary step on the nation’s journey to achieving value in healthcare.
CMS Principal Deputy Administrator Jonathan Blum discusses price transparency, surprise billing and the future of value-based payment
HFMA President and CEO Joe Fifer interviews Jonathan Blum, principal deputy administrator and COO at CMS. In this interview, Blum discusses how CMS plans to phase out the public health emergency, how price transparency and surprise billing legislation are being received by provider organizations, and the effect the pandemic will have on CMS's value-based care strategy.
Cost Effectiveness of Health Report, April 2022
The April 2022 edition of HFMA’s Cost Effectiveness of Health Report includes a preview the May issue of hfm, which focuses on telehealth, a key tool for promoting value-based care CEoH. Another article explores ways to promote health equity in revenue cycle processes, and a case study describes how one health system embarked on an initiative to achieve greater diversity among its revenue cycle staff.
Cost Effectiveness of Health Report, March 2022
The March 2022 edition of HFMA’s Cost Effectiveness of Health Report addresses a key prerequisite to achieving cost-effectiveness: engaged caregivers. A preview of the April 2022 hfm cover story details how one health system has responded to its nurses’ need for increased scheduling flexibility, and a commentary explores steps for enabling physicians to play a leadership role in promoting CEoH. Also included is a Q&A exploring activities on the world stage aimed at achieving the United Nation’s sustainable development goals for healthcare and health equity – and how U.S. organizations can play a role.
How U.S. healthcare can play a larger role on the world stage
Judy Kuriansky, PhD, a professor of psychology, NGO representative to United Nations and trustee of the United African Congress, shares her insights and experiences from working to improve healthcare equity and access among populations in the world who are “furthest behind,” which is a priority in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Kuriansky describes recent international efforts aimed at promoting the United Nations 2030 Agenda, and she address ways U.S. health systems could play an important role in such efforts.
Bringing the healthcare back to healthcare
Affording greater freedom to physicians to practice medicine by easing administrative strictures on them may be the best strategy for ultimately promoting cost effectiveness of health, says Martin Bluth. But physicians also should be well educated in the economics and business of healthcare.
Covenant Health sees a 4.6-fold ROI by automating workflows for philanthropic medical financial aid programs
Read about this solution that combines artificial intelligence (AI) with live, human patient advocates to find philanthropic programs, appropriately match and apply those programs to patients and convert uncompensated care to cash.
Paul Keckley: Improving nutrition in the U.S. starts with addressing the elephants in the room
Good nutrition remains elusive for many Americans because they face obstacles in being able to make healthy choices. These “elephants in the room” can only be addressed by policymakers, with the engagement of healthcare and other sectors of society.
6 ways to ease physicians’ burden from coding, documentation and risk adjustment
The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need for U.S. health systems to gain physician cooperation in documenting and coding patient risk. Yet these organizations also should be mindful of the administrative burden many physicians feel from having to perform these processes, which has contributed to feelings of burnout among them. This article describes six steps hospitals and health systems can take to help ease the administrative burden for physicians, which is necessary to ensure the future quality and effectiveness of the nation’s healthcare system.
‘A just cause’: HFMA’s CEoH initiative addresses the factors that impede quality of health and raise healthcare costs
HFMA is moving forward with a global effort focused on the concept of cost effectiveness of health (CEoH), with the goal for promoting development of a system for care that is needed, accessible and affordable. A key message of this effort is that a broader focus on improving cost effectiveness of health — not just of healthcare — should be a strategic priority for healthcare leaders.