HealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsBe confident in your staff’s ability to reduce risk by providing compliance training that changes behavior.
View All ProductsDevelop next-level people for next-level care by prioritizing quality and safety improvements.
View All ProductsStandardize policy and procedure management with an automated, customized, and centralized system.
View All ProductsEstablish a culture of belonging with education supporting DEI, wellness, engagement, and leadership development.
View All ProductsDeliver custom or industry designed product training directly to patient and resident care environments to reinforce proper use.
View All ProductsStreamline the revenue cycle management process and protect your bottom line with expert-backed education.
View All ProductsIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
View All ProductsCreate engaging and impactful learning experiences that meet the unique needs of your acute care staff.
View All ProductsUnlocking the full potential of clinicians goes beyond aspiration – it’s a commitment we embody. Our competency development solutions help personalize learning for every clinician so you can confidently bridge the gap between theory and practice for your nurse residents while meeting the unique development needs of your seasoned clinician.
View All ProductsHealthcare workforce management is essential. We provide advanced scheduling solutions for organizations to solve issues such as nurse retention
View All ProductsTackle all the challenges of provider directory management within a health plan with a single solution tailored to your specific needs.
View All ProductsOur affordable CVO credentialing services establish patient safety by enabling primary source verification for your healthcare organization.
View All ProductsFinally, a comprehensive resource to support collecting, storing, and sharing credentialing data with ease.
View All ProductsIntegrate with Epic to validate and add new providers directly to your provider master file.
View All ProductsMitigate risk and elevate your quality of care. Improving both clinical and business outcomes starts with a smarter, more integrated approach to regulatory training, continuing education and quality management.
Learn MoreHealthStream regularly hosts in-person and virtual meetings among customers to encourage connections with one another and enhance the value of using our solutions. These meetings involve sharing best practices with one another, and often customers learn about industry issues and how HealthStream can help solve them. A recent virtual meeting of the Revenue Cycle Special Interest Group focused on how healthcare organizations are adapting to the demands and necessities of the COVID-19 Pandemic. HealthStream staff and customers were joined by Revenue Cycle solution experts from nThrive education. Below are three major trends in healthcare Revenue Cycle operations that our customer and partner experts covered during that session.
One effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic has been to alter the kinds of care many organizations are finding themselves providing to patients. With a greater focus on Emergency Department and inpatient care, the coding knowledge for these areas is in much higher demand. Healthcare providers need access to Revenue Cycle education that will assist their staff in roles that are needed now more than ever before. nThrive’s Transitions Program is an ideal solution for bringing staff up to speed for new roles. Individuals that need to switch responsibilities are offered a base knowledge assessment, and then are provided with a list of courses and practice opportunities as preparation for the new role. Readiness of every candidate to perform effectively is confirmed in a final assessment. This assessment allows organizations to respond to their altered patient and payor mix while ensuring Revenue Cycle functions are keeping up to date with how the pandemic is changing healthcare.
Major increases have occurred in the use of telemedicine and telehealth. This has come about from Medicare’s Section 1135 Waiver, which allows for covered home-based visits for telemedicine. The providers are not just physicians and nurse practitioners—they include psychologists, therapists, and licensed clinical social workers. The root of telehealth’s rise lies in the reluctance of patients to visit healthcare facilities due to COVID-19 infection fears. Many people are now using this option for short check-ins and regular e-visits, which are now paid at the same rate as in-person visits. After Medicare’s approval, some other payors are following suit.
Another Revenue Cycle issue for telehealth involves audits. Though they are not currently being done, there’s no reason to think this will permanently be the case. Coding problems may occur if the provider is a nurse or physician assistant. It is extremely important during every telehealth visit to get consent from the patient and communicate that the session involves a charge.
As Emergency Departments have become the center of activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic, many organizations need to shift patient access employees to that environment. With the drop off in elective surgeries, hospitals have had to shift staff to those areas with a greater need. However, there are special considerations for patient identification that apply in the emergency care setting. Whereas typical registration may involve as many as 17 data points, that in the ED may be limited to as few as three when patient safety is an overriding concern. Imagine the potential for patient misidentification and duplicate medical records as the visit starts with drive-through testing from an automobile. The good news is that registration can be completed from the bedside, once a patient is safe and stable. For patient access training to prepare staff for the ED, distance learning and competency assessments are available from nThrive. One of the customers in this meeting offered that her organization started every new Patient Access employee in the ED, as a “trial by fire.” Another offered that her organization cross-trained patient access staff across many care environments for staffing flexibility as patient volumes fluctuated.
All staff with Patient Access must perform effectively to ensure the success of the revenue cycle in its entirety. With the shift toward high-deductible health plans and the growth in newly insured individuals, Patient Access is faced with communicating and collecting increasingly larger amounts for which patients are financially responsible. In addition to patient communications, these employees must fully understand insurance plans, coordination of benefits, medical necessity, ABNS, and the importance of the demographic and insurance information they collect and record. nThrive Education provides Patient Access employees with the necessary training to help ensure that patients understand their financial obligations and payment options. This information, when communicated properly, increases payment collection and reduces days of AR.
PLEASE NOTE: The information in this blog post was considered current at the time of its publishing, 06/05/20. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is an ever-evolving disaster due to new findings, data, and availability of resources. Please refer to the CDC website for the latest detailed information when you need it.
HealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceBe confident in your staff’s ability to reduce risk by providing compliance training that changes behavior.
View All ProductsDevelop next-level people for next-level care by prioritizing quality and safety improvements.
View All ProductsStandardize policy and procedure management with an automated, customized, and centralized system.
View All ProductsEstablish a culture of belonging with education supporting DEI, wellness, engagement, and leadership development.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementStreamline the revenue cycle management process and protect your bottom line with expert-backed education.
View All ProductsLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ResuscitationIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All SchedulingHealthcare workforce management is essential. We provide advanced scheduling solutions for organizations to solve issues such as nurse retention
View All ProductsComprehensive, industry-leading provider onboarding and credentialing software that validate health outcomes and support provider assessment.
View All CredentialingOur affordable CVO credentialing services establish patient safety by enabling primary source verification for your healthcare organization.
View All ProductsIntegrate with Epic to validate and add new providers directly to your provider master file.
View All Products