May 13, 2011 | Laboratory Pathology, News From Dark Daily
American Hospital Association claims accuracy of posted HAC data not established
In further step to create transparency in patient outcomes delivered by individual hospitals, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has posted on its website information on eight hospital-acquired conditions (HAC). However, many hospital industry leaders were not happy with this action.
The CMS data is specific to individual healthcare facilities that treat Medicare patients. It includes info on two types of hospital-acquired infections (HAI), blood compatibility, and air embolisms. Pathologists and clinical laboratory managers will recognize that medical laboratory testing plays an important role in diagnosing and monitoring several of these conditions.
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May 11, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology, Uncategorized
CIOs across America are concerned that their hospitals might not make the 2015 meaningful use deadline
For all the excitement about hospital and physician adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems, many CIOs of the nation’s leading health systems and hospitals are pessimistic about their organization’s ability to meet “meaningful use” (MU) requirements by the year 2015.
This is probably not news to most pathologists and clinical laboratory managers working in hospital laboratories. Generally, members of their medical laboratory team are usually part of every hospital’s EHR implementation task force, since clinical laboratory test data makes up a significant portion of the typical patient health record.
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Mar 7, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Some hospitals are paid as much as four times other hospitals in the same city for the same procedure
Across the clinical pathology laboratory testing industry, the use of deeply-discounted prices for medical laboratory tests has always been a flash point. But few consumers see the real price of the clinical laboratory test, and even many healthcare policy experts pay little attention to how clinical laboratories and pathology groups will set prices for laboratory tests.
That is not true of the prices hospitals charge. Because of sustained efforts by Medicare, private health insurers, and employers to make prices more transparent for patients, more information on the pricing policies of different hospitals is becoming available.
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Feb 14, 2011 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory Pathology, Managed Care Contracts & Payer Reimbursement
CMS says it will take steps to rescind the final rule before its scheduled implementation on April 1, 2011
Clinical laboratories and pathology groups will welcome the news that the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will take steps to rescind the final rule that requires the physician’s signature be on all paper requisitions for medical laboratory tests ordered on behalf of Medicare patients. It means that implementation of the rule—now scheduled to become effective on April 1, 2011—will not happen if CMS officials act in a timely manner.
Dark Daily has learned that last Friday a conference call took place involving Jonathan Blum, Director of the Center for Medicare Management, and representatives from the American Association of Bioanalysts (AAB) and the American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA). During the conference call, Blum disclosed that a decision had been reached within CMS to rescind the final rule that would require physicians’ signatures on paper requisitions for medical laboratory tests. Apparently, CMS intends to take the steps necessary to rescind this final rule before its effective date of April 1, 2011.
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Dec 8, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Contractors can now conduct “medical necessity” audits at your medical laboratory
Clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups will have new legal responsibilities to perform as of December 31, 2010. That’s when the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program expands to include Medicare Part C, Part D, and all 50 state Medicaid programs. The expanded RAC program gives independent auditors the power to conduct “medical necessity” audits at your hospital, health system, clinical laboratory, or pathology group.
Many healthcare executives are critical of how the Medicare RAC program will be implemented. Four private companies have been selected by the federal government to conduct RAC Audits. Each RAC auditor will be paid on a contingency basis. RAC contractors are thus motivated to identify improper payments. RAC auditors can analyze claims with payment dates going back to October 1, 2007. The possible consequences are severe because every RAC audit has the potential to reveal Medicare fraud or abuse issues. Thus, a RAC audit can bring added legal exposure to your medical laboratory or pathology group. (more…)
