News Briefs
Upper-level hiring looks strong
People looking for executive and professional positions in the health care field should have little trouble finding a job, according to a recent hiring survey conducted by search and recruitment firm Management Recruiters International Inc. of Cleveland. The survey reported that 54.3% of the health care executives with responsibility for hiring said they plan to increase their staffs in the first half of this year, up 8.5 percentage points from the 45.8% level of the second half of 2000.
Another 42.5% of those surveyed said they plan to maintain current staff size, up 10.3 points from second-half 2000, while only 3.2% plan staff decreases, a decline of 18.8 points from last year’s second half. Across all industries, 58.8% of hiring executives projected new hires during the current half, 35.2% plan to maintain current levels and 5.9% plan decreases.
For more information, see MRI’s Web site at www.BrilliantPeople.com.
Blues report results of anti-fraud effort
Based on 1999 and preliminary data from 2000, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) has reported aggregate recoveries and savings of more than $133 million. BCBSA CEO Scott Serota says the collective Blue plans nationally opened 12,000 fraud cases, 544 of which resulted in referrals to law enforcement agencies. The result was 183 criminal convictions. The vast majority of the cases came through calls made to hotlines, internal tips or claims examiners, he says.
Last May, BCBSA established a special unit to coordinate anti-fraud efforts throughout Blue Cross Blue Shield investigative and auditing departments. While the unit has been working with the FBI in combating fraud, a BCBSA spokesperson stated that it doesn’t pursue a case as fraud if it’s obvious that a provider made an honest mistake, for example, in attempting to comply with burdensome Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 regulations.
AHIMA plans October meeting
The Chicago-based American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) will hold its 2001 National Convention and Exhibit Oct. 13-18 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The convention’s theme is "Return on Information." For more information, contact AHIMA at (312) 233-1100 or visit its Web site at www.ahima.org.
The 2000 AHIMA conference was held jointly with the National Association of Healthcare Access Management (NAHAM) in Washington, DC. NAHAM’s 2001 conference and exposition, "Strategies for Service Excellence," will be June 7-9 at the Hilton Resort Walt Disney World in Orlando.
The conference will focus on strategies for being on the cutting-edge of service delivery. Speakers will include Michael T. Myers of PricewaterhouseCoopers, whose subject will be service delivery within the health care continuum, Jeanne Scott, director of government relations at National Data Corp., who will speak on the politics of health care, and Robert P. Murphy, vice president of operations at Pensacola, FL-Baptist Hospital Inc., will talk about operational excellence.
Workshops by NAHAM members will cover such topics as "First Impressions" and "Zero Defects Tolerance." Also scheduled are the popular University Hospital session, roundtable discussions, and storyboard presentations.
For more information, call the NAHAM office at (202) 367-1125 or visit its Web site at www.naham.org.
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