HFMA Announces Best Healthcare Finance Article Award Winners

CHICAGO, Oct. 09, 2017 -- The Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) announced the following four winners of its Helen Yerger/L. Vann Seawell Best Article Award for outstanding editorial achievement in hfm magazine in fiscal year 2017.

“Managing the True Costs of Health Care: A Roadmap to Cost Analytics,” by Pietro Ferrara, published in the February 2017 online hfm Early Edition, explores how, in a world of shrinking fee-for-service payment, healthcare organizations can no longer rely on revenue management, but also require accurate cost management technology and analytics. Ferrara notes that as the industry moves toward a value-based system, where outcomes are increasingly evaluated on cost and quality together, older cost management methods, such as relative-value units and ratio of cost to charges, are no longer optimal. He suggests a new methodology is needed to accurately measure activities, resources, and cost objects so that revenues and expenses can be determined based on resources consumed and actions taken to deliver care for each patient across the continuum of care. 

“Aligning Systems for Improved Revenue Cycle Performance,” by Kelly B. Baker, published in the September 2016 of hfm, recounts how, after seeing exponential growth from acquiring many practices, Novant Health Medical Group (NHMG) in North Carolina experienced a myriad of challenges in its central business office (CBO). To resolve these issues, NHMG moved to a single clearinghouse and post office box for remittances starting in 2010 to bring payment reconciliation processes for all 227 of NHMG’s clinics into the CBO. Baker describes how, in addition to reorganizing the revenue cycle services team, long-term performance improvement required rethinking how the revenue cycle department, IT, and clinics should interact. 

“Beyond Pilots: Building Scalable, Sustainable Healthcare Bundles,” by Anne Wong, Gary Ahlquist, and Carolyn Black, published in the October 2016 issue of hfm, observes that, despite the clear direction that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has set and the potential of bundled care to reduce costs, improve outcomes, and enhance the patient experience, many providers have held off developing bundles or have only pursued modest pilots. The authors of this article suggest that, although pilots are a good start, the only way to realize the full benefits of bundles is to deploy them at scale.

“Cybersecurity: An Enterprise Risk Issue,” by Tom Andre, published in the February 2017 issue of hfm, suggests that, although implementing the safeguards required for compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and privacy laws and avoidance of breaches is a sound policy, a similar approach should be considered for all cyberthreats. A cyberattack may not result in a breach of protected health information or personally identifiable information, but it nonetheless can significantly affect a healthcare organization’s operating efficiencies, causing delays and other negative impacts on patient care. 

Other high-scoring articles included the following: 

* “Adapting the Revenue Cycle for Value-Based Purchasing,” David Jensen and Elizabeth Ward, September 2016 hfm
* “The Path to Cost Transformation,” Jody Hill-Mischel, Walter W. Morrissey, Kimberly Neese, and Timothy R. Shoger, June 2016 hfm
* “Translating Risk into Revenue: Strategies for Risk-Adjusted Markets,” Brandon Solomon and Brad Helfand, November 2016 hfm
* “Managing Transitional and Chronic Care Profitability: A Guide for Hospital-Owned Physician Practices,” Cathy Zito and Joette P. Derricks, April 2016 hfm Early Edition 

Winners of the Helen Yerger/L. Vann Seawell Best Articles award are selected by a panel of five healthcare leaders who review each article published in hfm. Articles are judged on the writer’s demonstration of technical quality and writing skills, and contributions to the literature of healthcare finance. Winning articles from each of the past three years are available at hfma.org/hfm/BestArticles.

hfm magazine is distributed as a benefit of HFMA membership. The current issue may be viewed online.

About HFMA  
With more than 38,000 members, the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) is the nation's premier membership organization for healthcare finance leaders. HFMA builds and supports coalitions with other healthcare associations and industry groups to achieve consensus on solutions for the challenges the U.S. healthcare system faces today. Working with a broad cross-section of stakeholders, HFMA identifies gaps throughout the healthcare delivery system and bridges them through the establishment and sharing of knowledge and best practices. The Association helps healthcare stakeholders achieve optimal results by creating and providing education, analysis, and practical tools and solutions. Its mission is to lead the financial management of health care.

Press inquiries should be directed to:
Karen Thomas
Healthcare Financial Management Association
(708) 492-3377
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