HFMA Montana Chapter

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MT HFMA Volunteer Opportunity

‘Tis the Season for Thanks & Giving!

We are looking for HFMA members to give back to their communities this season.  We have multiple community events scheduled throughout the state.  Please take time to participate in one of the events or grab friends and family and create your own!  Here is a link to register your new event or to join one http://www.cvent.com/d/9hqzky/4W!  Each volunteer counts as an entry for a drawing of a $100 donation to the organization that the member is contributing their time to.   We look forward to seeing and hearing about your events!

Revenue Cycle Questions for Your Peers

Do you have questions specific to Patient Access, Patient Financial Services or Revenue Cycle but you aren’t sure who to ask?  There is an email group that could help you out!

If you’d like to be part of this email blast for Q&A, please reach out to Tricia Wagner, Director of Revenue Integrity, Community Hospital of Anaconda at TWagner@chofa.net.  Ask her to be added to the email blast and/or send her your questions.

DY2M – 2019-2020 Chair Michael Allen, FHFMA, CPA

As HFMA’s 2019-20 National Chair, my theme for the year is Dare You 2 Move.  We are at a critical, high-stakes juncture in the healthcare industry, maybe like never before. I believe it is important for anyone who wants to make a difference in this environment to find something uncomfortable and start doing it now. We need to get off the sidelines and into the arena. The dissonance of where we are and where we could be is not going to fix itself. The healthcare cost problem is not going to fix itself. Thus, I am challenging us all to not only identify how we — individually and collectively — might bridge that gap but also to get in there and move on it.

Montana HFMA – A valuable resource for the connection & development of Montana health care finance professionals

When we attend Association meetings (the new terminology for what was formerly “National”), they often speak to what they call “the secret sauce” of HFMA. I’m not an expert on it, but to me, that is the connections we form, largely at the local level. I would refer to this as “community.” A community is defined as a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.” It can also refer to “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” I think that is the “secret sauce” of HFMA and I believe the Montana Chapter has it nailed! Read More »

Physician Burnout

“Physician Burnout” is a hot topic these days. At the HFMA Western Region Symposium in Las Vegas we had the opportunity to hear Dr. Rishi Manchanda share his insights on this important issue. A recent issue of Modern Healthcare featured an article on “Battling burnout” that caught my eye. This article said that some hospitals are starting to employ Chief Wellness Officers to help overwhelmed physicians… Hmm – another addition to the C-Suite – CWO! Read More »

HFMA Western Region Symposium

Greetings Montana HFMA members and friends! As I write this note I am sitting in my office on a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon and it is very cold outside. What started out as a very mild winter in western Montana has finally delivered the snow and subzero temperatures that this Montana girl has grown to expect!

Last month I had the wonderful opportunity to escape the (mild) Montana winter for a few days to travel to Las Vegas to attend the HFMA Western Region Symposium. Although we had a couple very nice days in Las Vegas, we also had a day of rain, which one doesn’t see often in the desert! Read More »

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Montana HFMA!

I did a little checking and found that January is named after Janus, the god with two faces, one looking forward and one looking backward. Janus was the god of beginnings and transitions, also thought of as the god of the doorway. That seems pretty appropriate, as each new year provides the opportunity to reflect on the year past and make plans for the future. Read More »