Healthcare Revenue Cycle and Finance

The Rise of Telemedicine

By John Halamka MD – As reimbursement evolves from fee for service to alternative payment models, incentives will shift from treating sickness to keeping the population healthy. New investments will be made in technologies that reach into the home and enhance care team communication. 2016 saw an acceleration of telemedicine/telehealth. 2017 will see exponential growth.


Survey Says Fewer Than 2 in 10 Hospitals Regularly Use Patient-Reported Outcomes

72% of hospitals with limited or no Patient-Reported Outcomes Tracking say they will implement it within 1-3 years. CMS recently began using a new yardstick to calculate how much providers should be paid: a patient’s own view of their health. First incorporated into a new CMS program designed to lower the cost of knee and hip replacements, patient-reported outcomes, or PROs, may soon become far more widespread.




CMS Announces Next Phase in Largest-Ever Initiative to Improve Primary Care in America

CMS opened the application period for practices to participate in the new nation-wide primary care model, Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+). CPC+ is a five-year primary care medical home model beginning January 2017 that will enable primary care practices to care for their patients the way they think will deliver the best outcomes and to pay them for achieving results and improving care.