Nurse Entrepreneur runs PRN Funding article series: How nurse staffing agencies can get paid quicker

President of PRN Funding, Phil Cohen has a three-part series: How Nurse Staffing Agencies Can get Paid Quicker that was published on the Nurse Entrepreneur Web site.  In the articles, Cohen discusses techniques for temporary medical staffing companies to use in order to get hospitals, nursing home and other healthcare facilities to pay them faster.

Watch the video for Part One of How Nurse Staffing Agencies Can Get Paid Quicker video here:

Or click here to read part one of the series, which goes into detail about the steps a nurse staffing business owner should take before accepting a new client.

Watch the video for Part Two of How Nurse Staffing Agencies Can Get Paid Quicker video here:

Or click here to read part two of the series, which speaks to health care staffing business owners about the importance of sending out invoices on time with the correct information on them.

Watch the video for Part Three of How Nurse Staffing Agencies Can Get Paid Quicker video here:

Or click to read part three of the series, which tells how medical staffing business owners need to handle their collections in order to get paid faster.

ADVANCE asks if CAC is a threat to MTs

In a recent post to the Advance Perspective blog, Lynn Jusinski asks discusses the impact that CAC (computer-assisted coding) has on medical coders as well as medical transcriptionists. In her post, CAC A Threat to MTs? she writes:

“CAC was feared as something that would take coders’ jobs away. Codes would be generated using technology, and coders would no longer be needed. That, of course, hasn’t really come to pass. Like MTs, some coders are making a transition, only the coders using CAC are becoming validators instead of editors.

So speech recognition will probably not be replacing MTs anytime soon, and CAC won’t be taking the place of coders in the near future either. But one thing surprised me at the AHIMA session and as I researched for this article-did MTs ever think that CAC could take their jobs?”

Lynn Jusiniski is actually in the process of writing an article about the difference between natural language processing (NLP) CAC technology and structured input (SI) technology, and she’s looking for input from medical transcriptionist. Some questions she’s asking:

If you’re an MT, have you heard of SI CAC technology, or have you heard of anyone losing transcription accounts because of this technology?

What are some of the hurdles you predict for this technology, and is this something you expected would come about?

Thoughts on the merge between AHDI and MTIA

As long time members of both MTIA and AHDI, PRN Funding is excited about all the new opportunities that are now available to the medical transcription industry because of the partership between MTIA and AHDI.

The president of PRN Funding, Phil Cohen, has already taken advantage of some of the technological opportunities provided by the AHDI/MTIA alliance when he gave a webinar presentation to medical transcriptionists and MTSOs across America.  We’re equally excited to exhibit at ACE08 and MTIA’s 19th Annual Conference as well.

Overall, the new partnership seems to be running smoothly from our vendor point-of-view.

Q: How do you feel about the partnership between the two organizations?

AMN Healthcare Offers Free White Papers

As an industry healthcare staffing industry leader, AMN Healthcare is now offering white papers on their web site designed to help other medical staffing companies address their healthcare staffing challenges more effectively and keep them abreast of key industry topics.

All you have to do is fill out a form and download the white paper for free.  Currently, there are three white papers available on their web site:

Travelers on the Magnet Journey: The Contribution of Travel Nurses in Preparing for and Maintaining ANCC Magnet™ Designation
The Magnet Recognition Program takes its name from the great success of healthcare organizations in attracting and retaining an exceptional nursing staff. Learn about the importance of the Magnet program and the role travel nurses can play in Magnet designation and promoting positive patient outcomes.

Maximize Return on Travel Nursing Investment
Hiring the right nurses to accommodate fluctuating demand is challenging; staff surpluses mean unnecessary costs, while shortages can cause lost revenue opportunities and affect patient care. Learn how the Economic Staffing Forecaster can help you determine the most cost-effective mix of temporary and full-time nurses.

How to Hire Travel Nurses
Whether you need to cover a vacation, staff new beds or simply fill a vacant position, looking for the right nurse to fit your needs quickly and effectively can be a daunting task. Screening, interviewing and all the employment details take time and energy, so partnering with a travel nursing company you trust can make this process easier and ensure you find the right nurse.

Speech Recognition Technology – Embrace it or Fight it?

Bob Gerzel, Executive VP of Transcription, Technology, & Support, LLC wrote an article in the October 2007 edition of Health Data Matrix entitled: A 360-degree Look at SRT in which he talked about how technological advances in the medical transcription industry affects customers, prospective customers, MTSOs and MTs.

 

In the article, Gerzel writes:

 

“To many MTSOs, speech recognition is nothing more than a productivity tool enabling them to accomplosh more with the same or fewer resources.  Some MTSOs have embraced speech recognition technology and have enjoyed much success in this environment.  They continue to find a growing number of opportunities on a variety of platforms, while others have chosen a model whereby they operate on the client/vendor speech recognition platforms.

 

Since healthcare organizations continue to look to reduce costs and increase performance, those MTSOs who have chosen to embrace speech recognition technology have positioned themselves well for future opportunities.”

 

Q: Do you agree with Gerzel’s analysis?  Should MTSOs continue to embrace new technologies in the medical transcription industry?  Should they continue to partner with vendor management systems?

 

The Association of Registered Nurse Staffing Levels and Patient Outcomes

Many experts agree that the nurse-patient ratio is extremely important when it comes to improved patient outcomes. There’s a new review in December’s edition of the journal Medical Care in which researchers evaluated 27 studies of patient outcomes in relation to the registered nurse-to-patient ratio.

According to the review’s findings, if hospitals added one more full-time registered nurse on staff to care for patients, the number of hospital-related deaths in the U.S. could decrease significantly. The report goes on to say:

“When asked how hospital administrators can be better made aware of these possible rates of improved patient outcomes, lead review author Robert Kane, M.D., said, “The issue is not making them aware of the possibility, it’s convincing them that it is in their best interests to act on it. From a business perspective, the savings in reduced lengths of stay would not offset the costs of the added staffing. The case would have to be made in terms of image and liability.”

Click here to read the article that was posted on www.news-medical.net.

CodeRyte, Inc. and AAPC Form Alliance

On November 14, the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) and CodeRyte, Inc. announced their agreement to offer computer-assisted coding technology for AAPC member training and education.

According to a press release issued by the AAPC, “Through this alliance, AAPC will first provide instructors with the ability to use real-world computer-assisted coding technology to teach coding principles. Later phases of the partnership will make computer-assisted coding available as a practical application for loearning both in and out of the classroom.”

This partnership sounds like an interesting one that will benefit members of the AAPC. We at PRN Funding look forward to the continued growth of the association and the additional phases of this partnership.

Evolving Medical Transcription Model

Gartner Industry Research released a new report on the future of medical transcription. The report outlines the much talked about “Editor” Model of medical transcription, in which medical transcriptionists spend the majority of their time correcting, reformatting and augmenting the material already created by speech recognition programs.

The report also discusses another dictation approach that have left some industry experts worried. The “Once-and-Done” Model (OAD), which appears to be rapidly gaining acceptance in the ambulatory, single-physician and small physician’s practice marketplace.

The report goes on to explain the model: “In the OAD model, a physician performs dictation while seated at a computer terminal. Speech recognition is used to convert the physician’s voice directly into text, and this same physician is responsible to correct errors in speech recognition, as well as to format the document appropriately…A clinical decision support system may then examining this content to determine whether any alerts or warnings are warranted based on the information that has just been generated.”

Although Gartner hails the OAD model as the next big thing in medical transcription with little disadvantages, not all industry experts agree. (Click here to read the October Cover Story of For the Record Magazine – Once & Done Transcription: A Bold Spin or Off Target?) Whether you agree or disagree with the emergence of this new medical transcription model, it’s certainly something that MTSOs should be watching closely.

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