Rural hospitals are an integral part of our nation’s healthcare infrastructure providing critical services – from primary to long-term care – for nearly 57 million Americans. Recent years have presented countless challenges for rural hospitals. Factors such as rising cost of care, increased competition, lower reimbursement rates, unbalanced payer populations, reduced patient volume, uncompensated care, increasing labor costs and increased regulation have constricted operating margins for rural hospitals.
These challenges require hospitals to focus on efficiency to survive. While most savings initiatives focus on revenue cycle and care partnerships, our experience working with hospitals has uncovered innovative approaches to reducing the administrative load of Health Information Management (HIM) departments.
Click here to view five ideas rural hospitals should consider to reduce their Information Management expense.
Mississippi Rural Health Association 