I am writing this following BESLER Consulting’s celebration of its 25th year in business. That is no small feat for any company and, frankly, we are all very proud of this accomplishment. We are even more proud to be associated with the firm’s founder, Phil Besler. As those of you who know Phil are very much aware, he is a person of integrity, commitment and loyalty. Phil instilled those qualities in our firm long ago and they remain the foundation of all that we do. It is this foundation that has allowed our firm to grow and expand our service offerings over the years. However, the true measure of our success is how well we serve our clients and we therefore remain committed to these values and look forward to providing the highest quality services and products over the next 25 years. We thank you for allowing us to work with you and your organizations in our ongoing effort to, as our mission statement testifies, “improve the health of the healthcare community through unmatched solutions”. We plan to continue to build upon the extraordinary legacy that began 25 years ago.
Speaking of unmatched solutions, BESLER continues to innovate by listening to our clients and carefully observing the needs of the healthcare community. We have developed a number of new software solutions that are part of the B-VerifiedSM suite of offerings which includes: Transfer DRG, Medicare Managed Care IME, Compliance Screening and VerificationSM and Revenue Integrity AuditorSM. We develop our B-VerifiedSM solutions by applying our many years of consulting experience to products that put the power of our expertise in your hands. If you have not had the opportunity to take a look at these products you can do so on our website at http://www.besler.com/bverified.htm . Once you have taken a look, I would very much appreciate your feedback or any suggestions you may have for future development.
As always, there are several articles in this issue of the Beacon that touch upon some hot topics facing healthcare providers. Elizabeth Schaub-DeBlock highlights some key areas of the latest Medicare OPPS changes that deserve your attention. Have you updated your chargemaster to accommodate these modifications yet? Vinny Farina writes about the challenges that claim denials present to providers. It is our belief that denials remain a prime area for not only process improvement but for revenue recovery, as well. Developing and implementing an effective denial management strategy is not a simple task but the financial rewards can be significant.
2012 should be an interesting year as the political climate heats up and debate begins anew on healthcare reform, the funding of health-related programs is examined at the state and federal levels and, depending upon the outcome of the elections this fall, the potential for a shift in healthcare policy. As we all know, though, healthcare has long been an industry where you never have to wait an extended period of time for change to take place. We have seen truly dramatic changes in care delivery and finances over the last 25 years and there is no reason to believe that the pace of change will slow anytime soon. So, strap yourself in and keep your eyes open for the twists and turns. We will be right alongside you helping to navigate the way and prepare for the ups and downs.