HHS OIG Unveils COVID Strategic Plan as Ousted Chief Testifies Before Congress

Published: Tue, 06/02/20

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) unveiled a four-pronged strategic plan to oversee the nation’s continuing fight against the COVID-19 virus this week, coinciding with the agency’s acting chief providing...

7 Medical Office Software Must-Haves For New Practices

Did you know that the United States has over 6,000 hospitals? Unfortunately, not all of them can provide high-quality treatment due to the lack of equipment. If you’re running a medical office, it’s important to have the right set of ...

Hospital EHRs Miss Many Potential Medication Errors: Study

Despite modest improvements in their safety performance over the past decade, the electronic health record (EHR) systems used in US hospitals fail to detect up to 1 in 3 potentially harmful drug interactions and other medication errors, according to researchers.

One million nurses will retire by 2030. We need to prepare for it

Healthcare professionals across the globe have emerged as the true heroes of the COVID-19 crisis. Through a mission of care and compassion, they deliver urgent medical support for those battling the disease. Their value to the improvement of health outcomes has...

Major MS-DRG Adjustments Found in Proposed IPPS Rule

The Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Proposed Rule for the 2021 fiscal year was published on May 11 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Comments are due by July 10 at 5 p.m. Comments can be sent electronically using http://www.regulations.gov.

SDoH and COVID-19

The end of 2019 saw healthcare jobs become the hottest career around, with over 1.9 million jobs added and eager anticipation about job opportunities to come. However, the healthcare industry is incredibly fluid, with its own workforce now the latest face of new populations dealing with the social determinants of health (SDoH).

Coronavirus Effects on Medical Billing: Preparing to Use the New ICD-10 COVID-19 Codes

As the novel coronavirus continues to take hold throughout the country and healthcare facilities attempt to quickly reconfigure care delivery for patients and consumers who are being advised to stay home and not seek non-emergent care at hospitals and other facilities, appointments are being cancelled...

Congress Said COVID-19 Tests Should Be Free — But Who’s Paying?

Hospitals around the country are afraid to send out hundreds of thousands of bills related to COVID-19 testing. That’s because Congress mandated there would be no copays and no out-of-pocket costs for patients. But many employers with self-funded health...

Specimen Collection For COVID-19

CMS’s 4/30/2020 rule states that practices could bill 99211 for new or established patients during the public health emergency for COVID-19 specimen collection...