Healthcare financial management : journal of the Healthcare Financial Management Association
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Although providers try to comply with the laws regulating the provision of healthcare services to Medicare patients, there are many circumstances under which violations could be committed unwittingly, making the provider liable for civil or criminal penalties. If a provider becomes aware that a violation of the Federal antikickback statute, the Stark II law, or the False Claims Act may have occurred, it should act quickly to determine if, in fact, a violation actually did occur and take corrective action, or document why the particular activity does not constitute a violation. In some cases, a violation of the False Claims Act can be linked with a violation of one of the other laws. When violations are "stacked" in this manner, provider liability increases.
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Healthc Financ Manage · May 2000
Benchmarking facilitates process improvement in the emergency department.
The emergency department (ED) is an important source of revenue for hospitals. Patient satisfaction is necessary to any effort to optimize revenues. ⋯ To facilitate process improvement in the ED, hospitals need to identify critical success factors and appropriate measures, collect data on their patient-flow process, compare those data with industry benchmarks, and then determine areas for improvement. With this information, an action plan can be designed to improve patient-throughput time and patient satisfaction without lowering the quality of care delivered.