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Management articles are archived in the Laboratory Administration / Management chapter in the topic Archive of management articles






23 April 2021: Artificial Intelligence could Create Better Outcomes for Bowel Cancer Patients, by Roche Diagnostics
A test which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to measure proteins present in some patients with advanced bowel cancer could hold the key to more targeted treatment, according to research published today. A team at the University of Leeds collaborated with researchers at Roche Diagnostics to develop the technique, which will help doctors and patients to decide on the best treatment options. Rest of article

15 April 2021: Standardizing the Hematology Stain Workflow - White Paper, by ELITechGroup
Standardization and consistency for in-vitro diagnostics is of crucial importance, and the analysis and examination of blood samples is no exception. The Aerospray® Hematology Pro Slide Stainer/ Cytocentrifuge provides the perfect solution for standardized and consistent staining. When coupled with the CellaVision® DM1200 the analysis and classification of the stained slides also becomes standardized and consistent which leads to a clean, efficient, and smooth workflow with excellent results – every time. Rest of article

29 December 2020: House and Senate Announce Surprise Billing Agreement, by AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
On December 11, 2020, the House and Senate committee announced a bipartisan agreement on surprise medical billing that will establish a fair framework to resolve payment disputes between health care providers and health insurance companies. Rest of article

4 December 2020: Rule Finalized Forcing Payers to Post Negotiated Rates, Cost-sharing Data, by AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
The Trump administration has finalized a rule that will require private insurers to provider members with upfront prices – including real-time cost-sharing estimates – that they have negotiated with providers. The details are still being worked out, but a time table of how the rule will go into effect is outlined. Rest of article

20 November 2020: HHS Reverts Reporting Requirements for Provider Relief Fund, by AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
In September, HHS updated new reporting requirements for the Provider Relief Fund that raised concern throughout the healthcare industry. After multiple discussions with the provider community and congress HHS is now amending the guidance change to eliminate the risk of letting any of the $175 billion in PRF go unused. Even though HHS is taking a step back on the requirements created in September, it is not a complete reversal. Rest of article

10 November 2020: Tweetorial Tuesday, by Roche Diagnostics USA
Check out Tweets on VENTANA pan-TRK (EPR17341) Assay by #RocheDiagnosticsUSA at #NTRK on their #TweetorialTuesday. Click the link to check out the tweets with images of cases stained with pan-TRK IHC and multiple-choice questions! Follow @RocheDiaUSA on twitter. Rest of article

6 November 2020: CMS Expands Accelerated and Advance Payment (AAP) Program, by AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) announced it would alter the Accelerated and Advance Payment (AAP) program's repayment terms. The new repayment updates are as follows: Delay disbursement recoupments to one year from the date the payment was issued. After that first year, Medicare will automatically recoup 25 percent of Medicare payments otherwise owed to the provider or supplier for eleven months. Rest of article

23 October 2020: Down the Ocular, by Roche Diagnostics Medical and Scientific Affairs Team
Listen to Drs. Bharathi Vennapusa and Tabari Baker from Roche Diagnostics MSA discuss various topics related to NTRK gene fusion testing on Down the Ocular podcast series including methodologies and recommendations for identifying patients with IHC testing prior to NGS confirmation. Click here to listen and don't forget to subscribe to Down the Ocular podcast series!

13 October 2020: Provider Relief Fund Report Requirements Update, by AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released additional information outlining reporting requirements for health care providers who received and accepted funding exceeding $10,000 from the Provider Relief Fund. The essential guidelines are summarized in this article: Rest of article

27 August 2020: Proposed Rule - 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, by AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
On August 3rd, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, which includes CMS only allowing a comment period of 30 days for the draft (instead of the normal 60 day period). Rest of article

30 July 2020: FAQs Medicare fee-for-service billing, by AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
CMS released an updated COVID-19 FAQ on Medicare fee-for-service billing for COVID-19 related services. The policies in the article are effective for the duration of the PHE unless superseded by future legislation. With 41 sections and over 200 questions and answers, we highlighted key information. Rest of article

20 July 2020: Pathology Billing Tipsheet: 4 Ways to Reduce Billing Errors and Increase Revenue (PDF), by AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
Pathology billing and coding have complex regulations and rules, and there are many steps involved. Mistakes can occur at many points in "front-end" and "back-end" processes and can reduce collections by five percent or more, costing a typical practice or department hundreds of thousands of dollars, and frequently more. Mistakes also increase days in A/R, delay reimbursement and lead to compliance violations or fines. Rest of article

9 June 2020: 7 Ways to Help Create a Sustainable Competitive Advantage, by Change Healthcare
Today's healthcare providers are facing increasing revenue pressure from declining reimbursement, fixed costs, and growing patient responsibility. Labs are no exception. Maintaining existing business while growing new referral sources is essential to long-term viability. It is also important for supporting investments into new technology and systems that will help labs stay competitive. And competition is increasingly a factor as lab groups nationwide are targeting one another's clients as part of their own growth strategies. Rest of article

20 May 2020: How Business Intelligence Delivers Financial Insight to Outreach Labs, by Change Healthcare
Hospital-based 'outreach' laboratories are under increasing financial pressure due to escalating costs, falling reimbursements, and growing competition. As a result, there's little margin for error when it comes to financial management.Enter business intelligence (BI) tools, which can help analyze the past,interpret the present, and forecast the future, including identifying and addressing vulnerabilities before profitability is affected. Rest of article

1 April 2020: UnitedHealthcare Requiring Hospital Outreach Labs to Contract as Independent Reference Labs, by AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
Effective May 1, 2020, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) will deny any non-patient lab test claims submitted by hospital outreach labs if billed under the hospital’s facility participation agreement. Rest of article

25 March 2020: Revenue Cycle Management Services Help Stamford Pathology Group, PC Restore Reimbursement Cuts, by Change Healthcare
Like many clinical laboratories, Stamford Pathology Group, PC (SPG) has worked hard in recent years to overcome rising costs, falling reimbursements, and volume declines triggered by medical practices taking their laboratory work in-house. Fortunately, the group hasn’t had to battle this alone. Since 2006, SPG has partnered with a leading revenue cycle and practice management vendor. Together, an action plan was created to increase revenue, reduce costs, and improve coding accuracy. Rest of article

18 March 2020: Outsourced Billing can Give Pathology Practices a Boost, by Change Healthcare
Amid the turmoil and uncertainty of healthcare today, it's understandable that some pathology groups are reluctant to consider shifting from internal billing operations to an outsourced revenue cycle management vendor. But as regulations become more complex and the pressure mounts from declining reimbursements, the importance of optimizing the revenue cycle cannot be overstated. Despite the best efforts of many internal departments, healthcare’s structural changes increasingly demand a more efficient, effective and resource-rich approach. Rest of article

2 March 2020: CMS Develops New Code for Coronavirus Lab Test, by AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
On February 13, CMS introduced a new code that enables laboratories conducting Coronavirus tests to bill for the specific test instead of using an unspecified code. Specifically, the agency developed a new HCPCS code for providers and labs to test patients for SARS-CoV-2. According to the announcement, this code will allow labs conducting 2019-Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) tests to bill for the specific test instead of using an unspecified code. Rest of article

16 January 2020: Clinical Laboratory Data Reporting Delayed, by AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
CMS issued a notice stating that Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Tests (CDLTs) that are not Advanced Diagnostic Laboratory Tests (ADLTs), private payor data reporting will be delayed by one year. Rest of article

2 January 2020: CMS has Published the Physician Fee Schedule for 2020. The Time to Get Ready is Now, by David Nicholson, AdvantEdge Healthcare Solutions
CMS has issued its final rule for the 2020 Medicare physician fee schedule, effective January 1. With the added complexity to billing and coding for physicians, how you manage the revenue cycle process for the practice is more important than ever. For your convenience, I have summarized the major changes and provided links to additional resources available from CMS for more detailed explanations. Rest of article

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