Small- to medium-size clinics often operate under the assumption that their outsourced IT shop or managed services provider (MSP) is providing a robust security solution, but this is not always the case. MSPs aren't necessarily falling down on the job, though; remember that just because something is outsourced doesn't mean the vendor will manage all of the risk. In the end, if you want additional services from your MSP, it costs money. RapidFire Tools® offers a solution MSPs can use to address risks that many small- to medium-size clinics may falsely assume are already managed.
In the accountable care organization era, controlling costs and maximizing the efficiency of care has become a priority for many organizations, particularly when it comes to patients with high-cost, complex needs. The question is: How can organizations save money without sacrificing the quality of care or increasing avoidable readmissions?
If the 2-midnight rule keeps you up at night, it might help to add some PEPPER to your processes. CMS recently updated PEPPER, otherwise known as the Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report, to provide hospitals with insight into how well they're doing with 2-midnight rule compliance.
Quality measures, such as the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program, the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, and the Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program, form the basis of the 2015 IPPS final rule, released August 4.
Editor's note: Jugna Shah, MPH, president and founder of Nimitt Consulting, writes a bimonthly column for Briefings on APCs, commenting on the latest policies and regulations and analyzing their impact on providers.
