Jun 15, 2015 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Laboratory Testing
One Arizona medical laboratory focused on collecting from patients who were overdue on amounts averaging just $40 and, in 18 months, collected $3.2 million!
In today’s clinical laboratory marketplace, competency in revenue management is becoming just as important as clinical excellence. Blame it on these multi-year trends: shrinking lab budgets, Medicare price cuts, and payers excluding labs from narrow networks.
At the dawn of this decade—just five years ago—few pathologists and clinical lab executives would have predicted that the financial survival of their lab organizations would depend upon becoming more proficient and more sophisticated with billing and collections. Yet this is now a necessary response to the year-over-year decline in lab prices and revenue experienced since 2010. (more…)
Dec 9, 2013 | Coding, Billing, and Collections, Laboratory Hiring & Human Resources, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Healthcare’s coming shift from fee-for-service to value-based reimbursement creates both a crisis and an opportunity for clinical laboratories and pathology groups.
With the era of fee-for-service medicine under siege, every clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology organization needs a strategy for getting paid, as new reimbursement models that support patient-centric care will make up a larger portion of lab revenues. Unfortunately, few real-world examples exist today to guide clinical laboratory executives as they develop these strategies.
Patient-centric medical care is an important goal for every healthcare provider. Patient-centered medical homes are enjoying strong growth and acceptance. Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are designed to serve the individual needs of each patient. Meanwhile, hospitals and physicians are getting better at measuring patient satisfaction because health plans are basing payment on these scores. (more…)
Jul 22, 2013 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Tucson reporter travels to Sonora to get a simple clinical laboratory test and avoid hassles imposed by the U.S. healthcare system
Continuing growth in the number of Americans opting to become medical tourists shows that this trend is here to stay. The reasons behind this sustained growth sector have much to teach those clinical laboratory managers and pathologists in the United States who would like to make their medical laboratory organizations more competitive and customer-friendly.
For most products and services American consumers enjoy the lower costs and benefits provided by the generally free market in this country. But when it comes to healthcare services, many Americans are finding freer markets abroad. (more…)
