Handling the Medical Claim

Handling the Medical Claim

Author: Catherine Cochran

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2017-07-27

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 1439856257

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When a doctor sees a patient, how does the doctor‘s office get paid? If a claim for a service or procedure provided is denied, how does the doctor‘s office get the patient‘s insurance company to pay? Handling the Medical Claim: An 8-Step Guide on "How To" Correct and Resolve Claim Issues explains from beginning to end how to bill and collect on cla


Improving Diagnosis in Health Care

Improving Diagnosis in Health Care

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2015-12-29

Total Pages: 473

ISBN-13: 0309377722

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Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. According to Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients. It is likely that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences. Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment, providing unnecessary or harmful treatment, or resulting in psychological or financial repercussions. The committee concluded that improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional, and public health imperative. Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, a continuation of the landmark Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), finds that diagnosis-and, in particular, the occurrence of diagnostic errorsâ€"has been largely unappreciated in efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care. Without a dedicated focus on improving diagnosis, diagnostic errors will likely worsen as the delivery of health care and the diagnostic process continue to increase in complexity. Just as the diagnostic process is a collaborative activity, improving diagnosis will require collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among health care professionals, health care organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policy makers. The recommendations of Improving Diagnosis in Health Care contribute to the growing momentum for change in this crucial area of health care quality and safety.


Claims Handling, Law and Practice

Claims Handling, Law and Practice

Author: Richard West

Publisher:

Published: 2006-09

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 9781856093392

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A manual aimed at claims handlers for general liability, motor, clinical negligence, health and safety, disease, abuse and housing disrepair.


Care Without Coverage

Care Without Coverage

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2002-06-20

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 0309083435

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Many Americans believe that people who lack health insurance somehow get the care they really need. Care Without Coverage examines the real consequences for adults who lack health insurance. The study presents findings in the areas of prevention and screening, cancer, chronic illness, hospital-based care, and general health status. The committee looked at the consequences of being uninsured for people suffering from cancer, diabetes, HIV infection and AIDS, heart and kidney disease, mental illness, traumatic injuries, and heart attacks. It focused on the roughly 30 million-one in seven-working-age Americans without health insurance. This group does not include the population over 65 that is covered by Medicare or the nearly 10 million children who are uninsured in this country. The main findings of the report are that working-age Americans without health insurance are more likely to receive too little medical care and receive it too late; be sicker and die sooner; and receive poorer care when they are in the hospital, even for acute situations like a motor vehicle crash.


Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes

Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes

Author: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality/AHRQ

Publisher: Government Printing Office

Published: 2014-04-01

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 1587634333

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This User’s Guide is intended to support the design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, and quality evaluation of registries created to increase understanding of patient outcomes. For the purposes of this guide, a patient registry is an organized system that uses observational study methods to collect uniform data (clinical and other) to evaluate specified outcomes for a population defined by a particular disease, condition, or exposure, and that serves one or more predetermined scientific, clinical, or policy purposes. A registry database is a file (or files) derived from the registry. Although registries can serve many purposes, this guide focuses on registries created for one or more of the following purposes: to describe the natural history of disease, to determine clinical effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of health care products and services, to measure or monitor safety and harm, and/or to measure quality of care. Registries are classified according to how their populations are defined. For example, product registries include patients who have been exposed to biopharmaceutical products or medical devices. Health services registries consist of patients who have had a common procedure, clinical encounter, or hospitalization. Disease or condition registries are defined by patients having the same diagnosis, such as cystic fibrosis or heart failure. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews.


The Healthcare Imperative

The Healthcare Imperative

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2011-01-17

Total Pages: 852

ISBN-13: 0309144337

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The United States has the highest per capita spending on health care of any industrialized nation but continually lags behind other nations in health care outcomes including life expectancy and infant mortality. National health expenditures are projected to exceed $2.5 trillion in 2009. Given healthcare's direct impact on the economy, there is a critical need to control health care spending. According to The Health Imperative: Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes, the costs of health care have strained the federal budget, and negatively affected state governments, the private sector and individuals. Healthcare expenditures have restricted the ability of state and local governments to fund other priorities and have contributed to slowing growth in wages and jobs in the private sector. Moreover, the number of uninsured has risen from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008. The Health Imperative: Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes identifies a number of factors driving expenditure growth including scientific uncertainty, perverse economic and practice incentives, system fragmentation, lack of patient involvement, and under-investment in population health. Experts discussed key levers for catalyzing transformation of the delivery system. A few included streamlined health insurance regulation, administrative simplification and clarification and quality and consistency in treatment. The book is an excellent guide for policymakers at all levels of government, as well as private sector healthcare workers.


Definition of Serious and Complex Medical Conditions

Definition of Serious and Complex Medical Conditions

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1999-10-19

Total Pages: 127

ISBN-13: 0309172608

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In response to a request by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the Institute of Medicine proposed a study to examine definitions of serious or complex medical conditions and related issues. A seven-member committee was appointed to address these issues. Throughout the course of this study, the committee has been aware of the fact that the topic addressed by this report concerns one of the most critical issues confronting HCFA, health care plans and providers, and patients today. The Medicare+Choice regulations focus on the most vulnerable populations in need of medical care and other services-those with serious or complex medical conditions. Caring for these highly vulnerable populations poses a number of challenges. The committee believes, however, that the current state of clinical and research literature does not adequately address all of the challenges and issues relevant to the identification and care of these patients.


Health Care Finance and the Mechanics of Insurance and Reimbursement

Health Care Finance and the Mechanics of Insurance and Reimbursement

Author: Michael K. Harrington

Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Published: 2019-10-01

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 1284169030

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Health Care Finance and the Mechanics of Insurance and Reimbursement stands apart from other texts on health care finance or health insurance, in that it combines financial principles unique to the health care setting with the methods and process for reimbursement (including coding, reimbursement strategies, compliance, financial reporting, case mix index, and external auditing). It explains the revenue cycle in detail, correlating it with regular management functions; and covers reimbursement from the initial point of care through claim submission and reconciliation. Thoroughly updated for its second edition, this text reflects changes to the Affordable Care Act, Managed Care Organizations, new coding initiatives, new components of the revenue cycle (from reimbursement to compliance), updates to regulations surrounding health care fraud and abuse, changes to the Recovery Audit Contractors (RAC) program, and more.