Chicago, IL, Jan. 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In this era of quality and patient-focused healthcare, digital technology represents the future of hospital financial management to help healthcare financial officers and their revenue cycle staff impact the bottom line. This same technology simplifies financial transactions for everyone involved in paying a medical bill - from the patient to the payers. They are looking for better ways to use the limited resources that they have.
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"We know technology drives the establishment of this information and financial information network," said John Casillas, Senior Vice President, Business-Centered Systems, for HIMSS. "As a cause-based organization focused on the improving healthcare with the best use of IT, HIMSS continues to educate healthcare financial professionals to help them to use the tools that will help them to drive margin and mission in their communities."
The Department of Health and Human Services announced in early January 2012 new standards for electronic funds transfer, provisions of the Affordable Care Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. As noted in a Jan. 5, 2012, HHS news release, these administrative simplification provisions can "save the healthcare industry more than $16 billion over the next 10 years. These savings come from the adoption of electronic standards that will help eliminate inefficient manual processes and reduce costs."
In addition, a May 2012 study in Health Affairs found physicians spend almost 12 percent of every dollar received from patients to cover complex administrative tasks, such as filling out forms. As noted in the study results, simplifying these systems that are part of every physician's routine could save, each week, four hours of professional time per physician and five hours of support staff time. And those saved hours represent time better spent on patient care.
"In a direct deposit world, it is ridiculous that that roughly 80 percent of all health care payments from insurers to providers are still made via paper check. As illustrated by the U.S. Healthcare Efficiency Index, healthcare still has a long way to go in terms of implementing basic business and financial efficiencies that other industries take for granted," said Miriam Paramore, FHIMSS, Senior Vice President, Clinical Services, Emdeon. Paramore is a member of the HIMSS Board of Directors and board liaison to the HIMSS Medical Banking and Financial Systems Committee. "HIMSS in general, and the Summit for Health Information and Financial Technology initiative in particular, can play a critical role in raising awareness about these issues and the very real solutions that could fuel adoption today. Further, HIMSS can help to spread the word about industry standards and interoperability that are as critical in the business and financial space as they are in the clinical space."
"Digital technology is the future of hospital financial management," said Casillas. The HIMSS Summit for Health Information and Financial Technology will focus on improvement, using proven and innovative strategies for reimbursement, revenue cycles and operational performance. This conference will be held during HIMSS12 on Feb. 21-22 at the Venetian Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nev.