AHA report: Administrative simplification can improve patient experience, reduce costs

Administrative simplification can improve the patient experience and reduce costs, but requires cultural, operational and policy changes to achieve these goals, according to an AHA Trendwatch report released today. The report provides an overview of administrative simplification and its benefits, including enhancing quality and timeliness and reducing cost; challenges associated with legislating and implementing it; and steps hospital leaders and policymakers can take to bend the adoption curve. During an AHA webinar today, representatives from CHRISTUS Health and Kaiser Permanente discussed how they obtained organizational buy-in and are working with vendors on administrative simplification. A replay of the webinar will be available soon at www.aha.org.