Financial/Revenue Cycle Management

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LAS VEGAS – Newly expanded health IT vendor CPSI has introduced nTrust, a program designed to help community hospitals and skilled nursing facilities improve financial operations while moving into an electronic health records system with no upfront costs, CPSI said. The vendor unveiled the program last week at the 2016 Annual HIMSS Conference and Exhibition. “There are many providers that are unhappy with their EHR, but they don’t have the financial capability to make a switch,” said Boyd Douglas, CPSI president and CEO. “With nTrust, we help providers in acute and post-acute settings improve business operations via our TruBridge management services, while at the same time funding the purchase of their EHR with no advance payment required.” Through nTrust, hospitals and senior care facilities outsource revenue cycle management operations to TruBridge business services, which recently has been strengthened by the addition of revenue cycle management tools from Rycan Technologies, CPSI said. As a result of this business relationship, proceeds are allocated to finance the purchase and ongoing support of either Evident’s EHR system for acute care providers or American HealthTech’s EHR for post-acute care facilities. [Also: See photos from Day 3 of HIMSS16] CPSI is the parent of Evident LLC, TruBridge LLC, Healthland Inc., American HealthTech Inc. and Rycan Technologies. “nTrust gives customers a pathway to a better-performing EHR without upfront costs, with a partner that is taking a stake in their success,” Douglas said. “We will help you achieve the improved cash flow and increased financial efficiency in your operations that will help pay for an EHR that fits your needs for the complex and shifting healthcare environment. We are making a financial investment in the ongoing success of our clients who choose to take advantage of this program.” Sharkey-Issaquena Community Hospital entered a relationship with CPSI that began with TruBridge services to improve the hospital’s business operations, explained John Hodnett, RN, director of clinical systems at the hospital. “To further enhance our ability to effectively serve our patients and our community, the Thrive EHR from Evident was implemented simultaneously,” he said. “This business venture was without a big upfront expense.” The partnership aspect of the nTrust approach is invaluable and made the goal of implementing a new electronic health records system financially obtainable, Hodnett added. Douglas added the nTrust program was specifically designed to be of value to rural and community hospitals and senior care facilities. “We understand how today’s complexities associated with revenue cycle management has put increasing pressure on community healthcare providers that are already financially stressed,” he said. “TruBridge brings proven operational expertise and industry leading tools to bear to greatly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of managing the revenue cycle process.” Douglas said nTrust is the first of many product and service offerings emerging from the recent blending of the Evident, TruBridge, Healthland, American HealthTech and Rycan businesses. Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT This story is part of our ongoing coverage of the HIMSS16 conference. Follow our live blog for real-time updates, and visit Destination HIMSS16 for a full rundown of our reporting from the show. For a selection of some of the best social media posts of the show, visit our Trending at #HIMSS16 hub.

Barely a year after announcing its ambitious plan to tie reimbursement to quality of care, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that 30 percent of Medicare payments are now tied to alternative payment models, such as ACOs.  

As more healthcare organizations begin adopting some form of a value-based payment model, only 3 percent of providers believe their organizations are highly prepared to make the pay-for-value transition, according to the new 2016 HIMSS Cost Accounting Survey.

Group will serve as a  matchmaker between organizations that would like to develop and pilot solutions.

As the way hospitals and other healthcare providers get paid undergoes dramatic changes under value-based reimbursement, there is growing importance surrounding the revenue cycle operations. On Monday, HIMSS Media held its third Revenue Cycle Solutions Summit, hosting a standing-room-only crowd at the HIMSS16 conference, Below are some of the insights shared on Twitter during that event. Revenue Cycle Summit Twitter: @HenryPowderly This story is part of our ongoing coverage of the HIMSS16 conference. Follow our live blog for real-time updates, and visit Destination HIMSS16 for a full rundown of our reporting from the show. For a selection of some of the best social media posts of the show, visit our Trending at #HIMSS16 hub.

Rene Cabral-Daniels, CEO of the Community Care Network of Virginia, says some doctors are not effectively partnering in value-based models.

Cedars-Sinai, Wake Forest and Stanford Healthcare executives shared challenges for sustaining innovation at the HX360 Innovation Leaders Program kick-off event.

Report shared at the HIMSS16 Venture+ Forum shows a shift toward "supportive capital."

Experian Health is the new brand for what were 11 businesses that serve the healthcare field, the company announced at HIMSS16.