AIHCP and the American Academy of Case Management offers a four year certification in Case Management.  The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals in the healthcare fields.  The video below offers a more in-depth review of the program and some insight to what case management is and what it entails.

If you are interested, please review the Case Management Certification Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.

Please also review this video on AIHCP’s Case Management Program

Healthcare sectors have been hit hard by COVID 19.  Many resources have been utilized to meet the needs of the pandemic.  Project managers have emerged as aides in helping healthcare face its growing challenges.

The article, “How project managers can help the healthcare industry prepare for the next crisis” by Moira Alexander discusses how project managers can play a role in the next crisis.  She states,

“Virtually every industry was hit hard by COVID-19, but the medical sector suffered the greatest and still continues to feel the strain. Whether it’s hospitals, care centers, dentists, or private medical practices, there are opportunities for improvement—and that’s where project management professionals (PMPs) can play a pivotal role. ”

To review the entire article, please click here

Please also review AIHCP’s Case Management Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.

Good article for those interested in Healthcare Case Management and revenue cycling.  Many hospitals have ineffective revenue cycle management.  The article looks at statistics as well as aspects of this topic.

The article, “26% of Hospitals Without Effective Revenue Cycle Management System” by Jacqueline LaPointe discusses how hospitals can do a better job in this area and enhance their revenue cycle.  The article states,

“Black Book surveyed over 4,640 individuals from 522 hospitals and healthcare delivery networks on their use of 165 revenue cycle management technology services and solutions. The survey showed that revenue cycle management improvement is happening, but a significant portion of hospitals still do not have workable solutions.”

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Healthcare Case Management Program to learn more about revenue cycles as well as to become certified in Healthcare Case Management.  The online program is designed for working professionals in the healthcare field who are looking to enter into the case management arena.

Healthcare is far from perfect, but it could still be so much better in the United States.  It is constantly an issue every election and it seems noone can ever get it right.   This is an issue Americans deal with while it seems other countries manage to put a better product on the table for their citizens.  Why can’t the United States?]

The article, “America’s Health Care System Could Be So Much Better” by Donald Rebhun looks at this issue and what it would take for a real change to occur.  The article states,

The ongoing conversation around health care in the United States presents a daunting question: How is it that this country—with all its wealth, education and innovation—has among the highest health care costs of any industrialized nation, yet its clinical outcomes still lag behind?

To read the entire article, please click here

Please also review our Case Management Certification and see if it matches your professional or academic goals

Great article on cost cutting strategies for healthcare executives.  This article looks at seven cost cutting strategies that can help reduce cost.  Please also review our Healthcare Case Management Program to learn more.

The article, Healthcare finance leaders share 7 cost-cutting strategies, by Kelly Gooch states,

“Hospitals and health systems increasingly face financial pressures from dwindling reimbursement, increasing competition, deteriorating payer mix and other factors.

Due to these pressures, reducing costs is at the forefront of healthcare finance leaders’ minds, whether they are at a rural, nonprofit, urban or safety-net organization.

Here, executives from various types of facilities discuss seven strategies to reduce costs.”

To read about the other cost cutting strategies, please click here

It is very important as healthcare professionals to reduce prices without lowering the quality of care.  This article points to how this can be done.

Please also review our Case Management Program and see if it matches your academic and professional needs.

HIPAA Headaches: What Happens When Patient Data is Compromised

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is legislation that outlines how health records must be protected and secured. However, in today’s technology advanced world, data breaches are occurring at an alarming rate and some of those breaches have compromised health records. Healthcare providers must understand how dangerous medical record breaches can be and what to do if they believe their data has been compromised.

Incidences of Medical Record Data Breaches

Over the past few years, 89 percent of healthcare organizations experienced a security breach. One reason hackers are particularly interested in health records is that they contain information that can lead to identity theft, such as social security numbers, home addresses and even the names of family members which are often used as security questions. It is expected that more than 25 million people will have their medical information stolen between 2015 and 2019. Breaches occur in many different ways. Some of the most common reasons for a breach in health records include:

• Healthcare employee uses an unsecure cloud-based app to access protected health information
• Excel spreadsheets with patient information copied and stolen
• Missing backup disks from an unlocked storage facility
• A weak password leads to a server breach
• Doctors or administrators provide staff with usernames and passwords enabling an employee unauthorized access to data
• The hacking of a server leading to the misappropriation of patient information

Healthcare Provider Responsibility Under HIPAA

All medical professionals, including doctors, nursing professionals, and technicians are required to safeguard patient records as much as possible. The 2009 stimulus act required that a breach that affects 500 or more patients must be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the media. One way that healthcare providers could provide added protection is to encrypt data, something that financial organizations have done for years, but something that healthcare providers have been slow to adopt. Other ways that medical records can be protected is by improved cloud storage and stricter password rules.

Increased Fines

One thing that the government is looking into to stop the increase in medical record breaches is an increase in fines against healthcare providers when data is breached. In many cases, the breaches occur due to lax security at the healthcare location. More than 40 percent involved portable devices like laptops or USB hard drives while a large number of other breaches occurred due to easily-hacked passwords. Since the enactment of HIPAA, there were more than 22,000 complaints about violations of privacy in medical records but only one fine has been issued since 2003.

It is critical that healthcare providers take as many steps as possible to protect the records of the patients they care for and there are steps that can be taken to that end. Encryption, stronger password requirements and secure cloud storage are three of the best ways you can keep your patient’s health records safe. Hopefully, the above information will help you, as a professional, to better secure your patients’ data.

Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake.

Please also review our Case Management Program

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