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February 2012 - Vol 12, Issue 2
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| Need a Speaker? | |
Let Coker Group speak at your upcoming event!
For more information on the educational programs Coker can facilitate, please email us or call 678-280-9690. |
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**COMING SOON**
Coker's Latest Book:The Healthcare Executive's Guide to ACO Strategy | |
The Healthcare Executive's Guide to ACO Strategy is the first comprehensive book dissecting the integral components of ACOs from physician, provider, and payer views, including analysis of the CMS final regulations.
In the wake of healthcare reform, ACOs continue to emerge as the care delivery and reimbursement model of the future. Get the book that provides specifics on incorporating accountable care structure and strategy into your organization so you can enter the ACO era prepared and positioned to succeed.
Get expert advice on ACOs and the elements for success, including how to:
- Participate in the CMS Shared Savings program
- Distinguish the various characteristics of an ACO and its operations
- Understand how ACO reimbursement structure will work
- Evaluate the process of forming an ACO-including the legal, financial, IT, and governance requirements
- Fulfill important quality measures for an ACO
- Reshape and refine hospital-physician alignment strategies
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY! |
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Practice Changes for 2012 - Part 2
By: Deborah Hill, MBA, CMPE, CPC, CPC-1, CHC | |
To read part one of this article series, please click here.
Part two of this article series will highlight the 2012 CPT code changes, with information specific to each section of the manual. Depending on your practice specialty, closely review the appropriate code sections for code additions, deletions, and changes. Educate your staff and physicians about the changes that affect daily processes and documentation requirements. As soon as possible, update your billing sheets and chargemasters to reflect these changes to ensure clean claims and optimize collections.
Many of the 2012 CPT changes were made to clarify the description, intent, or bundling scenarios especially in the musculoskeletal, digestive, eye, auditory, and genital system sections. The most significant changes in the other CPT sections are outlined below.
Integumentary - The biggest changes to this section involve skin replacement/skin substitute codes with many deleted codes in the 15300-15431 range that were replaced with more simplified codes.
Musculoskeletal - Several of the injection codes now include clear image guidance in the descriptions.
Respiratory - Every "removal of lung" code (35240-35291) has been revised with significant new instructions. Thoracotomy services are expanded to include new codes with biopsy (32096-32098) and new codes with wedge resection (32505-32507). A new category for video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) was established with new codes (32601-32674).
Click here to read this article in its entirety. |
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A History of Post-pc Devices and Their Growing Role in Healthcare
By: Kyle Chang | |
In recent years, we've witnessed a revolution in mobile technology. Students, business professionals on subways, cafes and pubs, can be found clicking away on a tiny glass screens, completely anxious to the responses of the devices. Sending off an email, posting your location on social networks, reading a PowerPoint presentation, cuddling up to a nice eBook, chatting in a mobile video conferencing session with a loved one abroad, or even engaging in bird on pig warfare. This mobile revolution was due largely in part to the efforts of Apple computers. In 2007, Steve Jobs and his design team introduced to us a magical device. It would marry the iPod, the Internet, and the cellular phone and would pave the road for others trying to copy its success.
It was called the iPhone. Unlike its predecessors from other technology companies, the iPhone was a smarter smartphone. Many have tried to marry music, internet, and phone in the past, but they did not succeed (MotoROKR, give my regards to Lucifer!). Microsoft and RIM Blackberry, were once in the #1 and #2 seeds in the smartphone industry, but now due to Apple and Google, Microsoft and RIM are seated in the Other category or in the less than 10% of smartphone manufacturers of the world. Not so much RIM, but as of the development of this article RIM co-CEOs, Balsillie and Lazaridis, were asked to resign. It did nothing to help their stock.
We can all ask the questions of "what happened", or point the finger at the company that allowed these revolutionaries to take over. Fundamentally, it was time for some reactionaries to annihilate the status quo. If it wasn't Apple (remember the 1984 commercial) it would be Google. Either or, Microsoft and Rim were playing Candyland to Apple and Google's Stratego. Not even in the same league, Microsoft and RIM had fallen well behind their competitors and worse yet, like cattle led to slaughter...click here to read the full article. |
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Coffee with Coker - a FREE monthly webinar! | |
 Join Us in March!
Date: Friday, March 9, 2012
Time: 11:30 a.m. EST
Talent Management: Perspective from Senior Search Executives
Talent management has been rated high on a list of sectors that will experience drastic change during 2012. Recruitment should not be your solo focus; rather, it should include retention strategies, increased referrals, and internal development of existing talent. It is critical that an assessment is conducted to ensure you have the best talent pool and determine what future goals exist for your organization. Proper forecasting and planning is a vital part of this process and those involved should strive to be strategic and proactive with an increased business focus.
This session will provide insight from seasoned search executives on market trends from both the recruitment and candidate viewpoint.
Knowledge Nuggets:
- Look ahead at emerging recruiting and hiring trends expected in 2012
- Learn best practices for internal recruitment teams
- Discover ways to improve your processes for recruiting and hiring
- Review methods to increase your employee retention and referrals
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About Coker Group
Coker Group, a leader in healthcare consulting, helps physicians, hospitals, and other providers find answers and solve problems in management and business operations. Our consulting team members are proficient, trustworthy professionals with experience and strengths in various areas. Coker's staff includes seasoned individuals in finance, administration, management, operations, compliance, and information systems. Coker integrity is unquestionable.
The CokerConnection© 2012 is an electronic newsletter published monthly by Coker Group, copyedited by Kay Stanley and compiled for the internet by Trish Hutcherson. The articles and viewpoints presented in the CokerConnection© are for informational purposes only and not intended to constitute legal or financial advice. If legal, financial, or other professional advice is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. |
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