Monitor Mondays has become an indispensable source of information for healthcare providers of many different types

ST. PAUL, Minn. (PRWEB)
January 08, 2020

Monitor Mondays, the weekly live podcast produced by RACmonitor.com, is marking the 10th anniversary of its inaugural edition with an extended hour-long live podcast, it’s first of the new calendar year, at 9 a.m. CST on Monday, January 13.

“RACmonitor was launched in 2008 because, at that time, the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program was gaining traction. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had recently concluded a demonstration (pilot) of the RAC concept with four states, and the consensus was that CMS would move forward, and so we wanted to alert hospitals to this new development,” RACmonitor.com Publisher and Monitor Mondays Program Host and Executive Producer Chuck Buck recalled. “The federal auditing that began at that point has only intensified ever since, and Monitor Mondays quickly became a landmark, go-to feature that helps us keep readers and listeners informed.”

Nearly 12,400 professionals from across the U.S. healthcare system subscribe and listen in to Monitor Mondays each week – more than two listeners for each of the estimated 5,500-6,000 hospitals currently operating nationwide. Of those listeners, as many as 1,000 tend to tune in live each Monday morning, and far more take in the recorded podcast, which from 2018 into 2019 boasted more than 250,000 replays across the various streaming platforms that now offer it – including Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, TuneIn, and Stitcher.

“As a new decade begins, it will be more important than ever for compliance practitioners to stay informed and engaged. The interest in healthcare coordination and accountability to secure value-based, positive health outcomes will only accelerate in the future, with the introduction of new technological tools and additional scientific discoveries. Compliance officials will play a critical role in ensuring that their providers maintain sound compliance practices as new delivery and payment designs are implemented to meet these new expectations,” said former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Daniel Levinson, who resigned last year after serving 15 years in that capacity. “As the compliance mission becomes more central to enterprise success, having the right information-gathering and networking opportunities are critical. Through its weekly broadcasts, RACmonitor provides a highly efficient and timely service, precisely to meet these ever-growing needs.”

Levinson was one of 10 healthcare industry experts to record testimonials about the 10th anniversary of Monitor Mondays’ launch – some of which will be shared during the special hour-long live podcast.

“Monitor Mondays has become an indispensable source of information for healthcare providers of many different types,” said William A. Dombi, Esq., President of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. “I’m privileged to be part of the Monitor Mondays team, and really look forward to another 10 years of great, timely information that covers the topics that are so essential to making healthcare as significant a part of society as it is.”

Monitor Mondays has been recognized for excellence in reporting by numerous individuals and organizations over the years, most recently when ExamWorks listed it among its “50 Best Podcasts for Claims Adjusters” in June 2019.

Looking to the future, Buck pledged that professionals from every corner of the healthcare industry will be able to continue to rely on the website and the podcasts to stay at the vanguard of every relevant change that comes along – which, if the last few years are any indication, are sure to be many.

“RACmonitor and Monitor Mondays will continue to be the single most important source of regulatory and audit news and information,” Buck said. “Both entities will continue to focus on the interaction of the federal government with healthcare providers – provider settings in acute care, ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), and rural health, as well as behavioral health, including the social determinants of health.”

To to listen to Monitor Mondays and register to listen live every monday, visit https://www.racmonitor.com/monitor-mondays-podcasts or search for Monitor Mondays on any of the aforementioned podcast streaming services.

RACmonitor, a division of MedLearn Media, Inc., is an online news and information source produced to help healthcare providers make informed decisions for their organizations on the activities of third-party contract auditors, such as the Recovery Audit Contractors and governmental auditors such as those with the Office of Inspector General (OIG) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). RACmonitor offerings for subscribers include:

• 
  Weekly eNewsletters covering hot topics on regulatory compliance
• A weekly live podcast (Monitor Mondays)
• Live webcasts featuring nationally recognized thought leaders
• Special bulletins and news alerts
• Notifications of upcoming webcasts and special programs
• Up-to-date resources at RACUniversity

RACmonitor, along with its family of brands, including ICD10monitor and MedLearn Publishing, are trusted sources of news and information provided under their parent company name, MedLearn Media Inc.

MedLearn Media, Inc. provides trusted expertise to the healthcare industry in the areas of coding, compliance, reimbursement, and regulatory changes. It offers a family of leading brands on multimedia publishing platforms, including print and digital books, visual charts, newsletters, webcasts, seminars, on-demand content, and more. MedLearn Media, Inc. continues to build on a nearly 30-year legacy of trust, reliability, and peace of mind, and it remains a company that customers can depend on. The company is based in St. Paul, Minn. More information can be found online at http://www.medlearnmedia.com.

Share article on social media or email:

Drs. Anate Brauer and Tomer Singer of SGF New York to host nine patient education events in January, February and March 2020.

SGF’s newest full-service location in Manhattan offers access to two leading, board certified reproductive endocrinologists—Drs. Anate Brauer and Tomer Singer—a state-of-the-art laboratory, and an indisputable track record of success.

NEW YORK (PRWEB)
January 08, 2020

Physicians from Shady Grove Fertility (SGF) New York will host nine free educational events this January, February, and March, including three fertility seminars, three donor egg treatment seminars, and three egg freezing seminars.

Attendees can unwind with refreshments during informal, physician-led seminars and question-and-answer sessions with leading experts in infertility.

SGF New York’s fertility seminars will cover infertility basics, including menstrual cycle warning signs, common causes of infertility, how infertility is diagnosed and recommendations for when to see a fertility specialist, success rates, financial programs, treatment options, and much more. SGF New York’s fertility seminars are free and include a complimentary physician consult that can be scheduled onsite.

SGF New York’s donor egg treatment seminars will provide in-depth look into SGF’s internationally renowned Donor Egg Treatment Program, the largest program in the nation. SGF, home to more than 8,000 babies born from donor egg treatment, is one of only a few centers in the nation that recruits, selects, and prescreens (medically, psychologically, and genetically) its own ready-to-cycle egg donors prior to making them available on their donor registry. Further, SGF offers exclusive 100% refund guarantee programs not only for IVF but donor egg treatment—a significant differentiator among other programs in the area. All attendees will receive a complimentary physician consult and one lucky attendee will receive $1,000 off a future donor egg treatment at SGF New York.

SGF New York’s egg freezing seminars will offer attendees a deep dive into SGF’s track record with egg freezing, a fertility-preserving option that’s growing in popularity at an unprecedented 20 percent per year, nationally, with even higher growth rates in New York City and surrounding areas. SGF holds the spot as one of the top five egg freezing programs in the U.S., and the number of women choosing egg freezing at SGF continues to rise. The seminar will cover SGF’s success rates, with SGF being one of only a few centers in the nation with published success rates for women who return to use their frozen eggs. In addition, the seminar will cover what to expect during fertility testing to determine candidacy for egg freezing, what to expect during an egg freezing cycle, financial programs, SGF’s refund guarantees for egg freezing, and much more. All attendees will be entered into a raffle where one lucky attendee will receive $1,000 off a future egg freezing treatment cycle at SGF New York.

All SGF New York seminars will be hosted in their new 15,300 square foot space in New York City, conveniently located at 110 East 60th Street—minutes from nine NY subway stations providing easy access from all boroughs as well as Westchester, Long Island, and Connecticut, and steps from Bloomingdales, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and The Plaza Hotel.

The SGF New York location is home to physician offices for patient consultations, SGF’s ninth embryology lab, a spacious operating room, embryo transfer room, and recovery bays. Patients benefit from having an onsite dedicated andrology laboratory for sperm preparation and an onsite endocrinology lab for processing bloodwork.

Services available in SGF New York include fertility testing and diagnosis, including semen analysis; non-invasive fertility options such as ovulation induction and intrauterine insemination (IUI); in vitro fertilization (IVF); donor egg treatment; preimplantation genetic testing; fertility preservation through egg freezing; and LGBTQ family building.

Fertility Seminars

January 14 | What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting | Dr. Tomer Singer

February 6 | What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting | Dr. Anate Brauer

March 5 | What to Expect When You’re Not Expecting | Dr. Anate Brauer

Donor Egg Treatment Seminars

January 23 | Donor Egg Treatment | Dr. Anate Brauer

February 13 | Donor Egg Treatment | Dr. Tomer Singer

March 19 | Donor Egg Treatment | Dr. Anate Brauer

Egg Freezing Seminars

January 16 | Egg Freezing | Dr. Anate Brauer

February 24 | Egg Freezing & Endometriosis | Drs. Brauer & Singer, with guest speaker Dr. Seckin

March 26 | Egg Freezing | Dr. Tomer Singer

While all SGF in-person and online events are complimentary, interested parties must register to attend by visiting the SGF calendar of events.

Dr. Anate Brauer earned her medical degree from the George Washington University School of Medicine. She completed her residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center, and her fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, NY. Dr. Brauer is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive endocrinology and infertility.

Dr. Singer earned his medical degree from the Sackler School of Medicine and his Master of Business Administration in Health Care Management from Hofstra Zarb School of Business. He completed his residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, NY, where he also served as Chief Resident, and his fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology and infertility fellowship at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, NY. Dr. Singer is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive endocrinology and infertility.

To make an appointment in New York City, call 212-203-4826 or submit this brief form.

To schedule an appointment at any of SGF’s other 35 domestic locations, call the SGF New Patient Center at 888-761-1967.

About Shady Grove Fertility (SGF)

SGF is a leading fertility and IVF center of excellence with more than 85,000 babies born and counting. With 36 locations throughout FL, GA, MD, NY, PA, VA, D.C., and Santiago, Chile, we offer patients individualized care, accept most insurance plans, and make treatment affordable through innovative financial options, including treatment guarantees. More physicians refer their patients to SGF than any other center. Call 1-888-761-1967 or visit ShadyGroveFertility.com.

Loyal patients lead to better hospital outcomes but poor financial experiences threaten relationships and revenue

Most healthcare providers are damaging their brands’ potential by delivering financial care that doesn’t measure up to their clinical care. Put plainly, these providers are putting revenue at risk. – Kevin Fleming, CEO, Loyale Healthcare

LAFAYETTE, Calif. (PRWEB)
January 08, 2020

Every business hopes its customers will be loyal. Loyal customers return for future purchases. They refer their friends and family. And they’re usually more forgiving when the inevitable problem comes up. In some industries, loyalty can suppress the consumer’s urge to look elsewhere, even when there are less expensive alternatives. Any way you look at it, a loyal customer is one of any organization’s most valuable assets.

The same is true for hospitals and the healthcare industry. But unfortunately for some providers, patient loyalty has never been more at risk. As consumer out-of-pocket costs for premiums, deductibles, co-pays and care itself have reached record highs, patients (especially Millennials, Gen Xers and younger) are giving up on the old Primary Care Physician model of care delivery and looking for better value and convenience.

One of the biggest sources of patient/consumer frustration is related to their financial experiences, especially the lack of price transparency and the financial planning made possible by that transparency. For patients, cost is a big deal. So big in fact, that as many as half of Americans have reported avoiding or delaying care because of concerns about their ability to afford it. Those who do pursue care are more likely to abandon treatment or to neglect paying.

These observations were confirmed recently by a survey conducted by Access One, a healthcare finance company, to measure provider loyalty. Responding to the survey, more than 1,000 healthcare consumers said that:

• 
  40% of were unsure how they would pay for an unexpected medical expense under $500
• 60% said an unexpected medical bill of less than $1,000 would spark worry
• 22% said even $250 would prompt financial stress

The survey also explored patients’ experiences figuring out how to pay for the care they have received. Here, survey respondents answered that:

• 20% don’t understand their options for paying for medical procedures or other healthcare expenses
• Just 27% are very satisfied with their options for payment
• 74% say that their providers have not spoken with them regarding patient financing options or the availability of a payment plan in the last two years

Most significant for this analysis, respondents to the survey demonstrate a willingness to switch providers to find a more satisfying financial experience.

• 40% of respondents would switch providers to access affordable payment arrangements, including half of households with children
• 75% are willing to shop around for care based on price (38% already are)
• 81% are most likely to want to discuss financing/payment plans with their provider (any generation)
• Though baby boomers are least likely to consider switching, 71% want to discuss their ability to pay with their physician

We’ve written before about the persistent gap between the quality of a patient’s clinical experience and their financial experience. The results of this survey underscore the financial and operational risks that this gap represents. To us, the message is loud and clear, hospitals can no longer afford to deliver sub-standard experiences in any dimension of the patient’s journey – whether clinical, administrative or financial.

Calculating the value of loyalty

With patient relationships at greater risk than ever before, winning and retaining patients is critical for providers that intend to compete and prosper in today’s increasingly consumer-driven marketplace. Patient retention – or loyalty – has become one of a hospital’s most valuable financial indicators, so it’s important to know how much each one of those relationships is worth.

One of the most straightforward ways to measure the value of a patient’s loyalty is to calculate the average lifetime value of a patient relationship. The formula is a simple one: V x N x Y, where V = the average value of a billable patient encounters in any given patient population, N = the average number of encounters per year and Y= the average number of years the patient will visit the hospital. The calculation can be refined by segmentation and/or multipliers to account for the patient’s influence on other patients.

Simplified even further, it’s possible to calculate a rough estimate using the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Net Healthcare Expenditure for 2018 figure of $11,172 per person.

• Let’s say 50%, or of this per-person expenditure represents a patient’s billable encounters with a hospital in a year, representing $5,586 in provider revenue. Please note: The revenue source (payer) is irrelevant because patient choice drives the revenue, not the relationship between the payer (insurance company) and the provider.
• Average annual per-patient hospital expenditure per year of $5,586 is multiplied by the average number of years the patient is expected to return to the provider, in this case 25
• Yields a Lifetime Patient Value of $139,650, which accounting for inflation of 2.1% over the lifetime of the patient relationship becomes $177,644 in hospital revenue directly attributable to each patient based on the behavior of the average patient.

This is of course a crude over-simplification, but it illustrates how any provider can use its own patient encounter and financial data to determine its own lifetime patient value. Hospitals may also have the ability to calculate the multiplier effect that loyal patients can have on patient acquisition. One analysis suggests that a patient’s total lifetime value is more than $600,000.

Using this calculation and the patient survey results cited above, providers must consider the impact of patient attrition in an increasingly competitive marketplace. If 40% of patients are willing to switch providers to access more affordable payment arrangements, how much revenue is at risk?

On the other hand, the upside opportunity for providers that step up to meet patients’ expectations are tremendous. Here, innovative providers have the enviable opportunity to project the longer-term impacts if they are able to lure away 40% of their competitors’ patients by offering more consumer-friendly financial experiences.

In our experience helping healthcare providers attract and retain more patients, “consumer-friendly” financial experiences are characterized by a number of attributes, up to and including:

1. Single-platform communications between physician/practice and patient, including financial information pertinent to the patient’s care and treatment throughout their care journey

2. Price transparency before treatment begins, with estimations for the total cost of care as well as the patient’s portion for payment

3. Payment plan options to assist patients whose financial circumstances do not allow for full payment when due

4. Investments in lower-cost care delivery channels, such as telehealth and/or urgent care facilities that offer lower costs, greater convenience and improved accessibility for non-emergent patients

5. Personalized wellness programs and content, leveraging patient data to inform ongoing patient communications to optimize health outcomes

Why a healthcare provider’s brand matters more now than ever

At its highest level, a “brand” is defined as the emotional and psychological associations that a person (patient) or market makes with a hospital or healthcare system. Strong brands enjoy greater customer loyalty, better financial performance and higher valuations. But, as this analysis and the survey results above illustrate, most healthcare providers are damaging their brands’ potential by delivering financial care that doesn’t measure up to the high standards associated with their clinical care. Put plainly, these providers are putting revenue at risk.

At Loyale Healthcare, we’re proud to have been chosen as the patient financial engagement platform for HCA Healthcare, recently recognized as one of healthcare’s most valuable brands by BrandFinance. Working together with HCA and other healthcare enterprises across the country, we’re bridging the gap between what patients expect and what they get in their financial dealings with their providers. With upfront price transparency; personalized, data-driven financial plans; patient financing; responsive digital patient communications and the industry’s most robust patient financial portal, we’re helping healthcare providers meet their patients’ – and their markets’ – highest expectations for financial care.

Our company was founded on the principle that fiercely loyal patients are indeed a provider’s most valuable asset. Our founder, Dan Peterson, was among the first to recognize the disruption that consumerism would inevitably bring to healthcare, so Loyale was developed to help providers compete and grow – with a platform designed from the ground up to complement and integrate healthcare providers’ existing technologies to enable the delivery of comprehensive, holistic care.

By bringing the entire patient journey into view for patients and providers, we’re helping companies like HCA Healthcare burnish their brands, build patient loyalty and improve financial performance. Based on the responses of patients, it appears we’re on the right track.

Kevin Fleming is the CEO of Loyale Healthcare

About Loyale

Loyale Patient Financial Manager™ is a comprehensive patient financial engagement technology platform leveraging a suite of configurable solution components including predictive analytics, intelligent workflows, multiple patient financing vehicles, communications, payments, digital front doors and other key capabilities.

Loyale Healthcare is committed to a mission of turning patient responsibility into lasting loyalty for its healthcare provider customers. Based in Lafayette, California, Loyale and its leadership team bring 27 years of expertise delivering leading financial engagement solutions for complex business environments. Loyale currently serves approximately 12,000 healthcare providers across 48 states. Loyale recently announced an enterprise level strategic partnership with Parallon including deployment of its industry leading technology to all HCA hospitals and Physician Groups.

Royal Biologics MAGNUS Viable Cellular Allograft

“MAGNUS presents a novel product class opportunity in orthopedics. We feel that the industry was calling for a DMSO-free viable graft solution and MAGNUS meets that demand.” – Salvatore Leo, CEO

HACKENSACK, N.J. (PRWEB)
January 08, 2020

Royal Biologics, an ortho-biologics company specializing in the research and advancement of regenerative cellular therapy and novel orthobiologic solutions, has announced the launch of MAGNUS, a DMSO-free viable cellular bone allograft. MAGNUS presents a unique solution to traditional viable cellular allograft technology as it utilizes a DMSO-free cryoprotectant. This novel approach to the viable cellular allograft market differentiates MAGNUS from all other technologies currently available.

Proper preservation of cellular allografts requires strict adherence to recovery and processing protocols. In the MAGNUS viable cellular bone allograft, viable spine-derived cells are collected from the vertebral body region of the donor and preserved with the use of a DMSO-free cryoprotectant.

“We are very excited to add MAGNUS to our portfolio of novel orthobiologic solutions for fusion in orthopedics,” says Salvatore Leo, Chief Executive Officer of Royal Biologics. “MAGNUS presents a new class of viable cellular allografts which we feel present the surgeon with favorable options for bone graft based procedures.”

In a recently published peer-reviewed study looking at 75 consecutive cases with 12 months of follow up, MIS TLIF Fusion with MAGNUS Viable Allograft demonstrated a 96% fusion rate of the 75 patients with a total of 85 levels achieving fusion at 12 months.1

“MAGNUS presents a novel product class opportunity in orthopedics. We feel that the industry was calling for a DMSO-free viable graft solution and MAGNUS meets that demand.”

For more information on MAGNUS, MAXX-CELL, and Royal Biologics please visit http://www.royalbiologics.com

1. Tally, William C, et al., Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion with Viable Allograft: 75 Consecutive Cases at 12-Month Follow-Up. International Journal of Spine Surgery, 2018. Vol. 12, No. 1 pp 76-84.

Share article on social media or email: