Providers Can Even the Playing Field During Open Negotiations – Here’s How
Nov 28, 2023
1 min read
Emergency medical service (EMS) providers are facing ongoing challenges when it comes to receiving the maximum reimbursement rate from...
News Alert: ZOLL Claims Clarity Data Service for Healthcare Providers Delivers Claims Data To Foster Market Transparency and Support Data-driven Negotiation and Decision Making
Oct 30, 2023
1 min read
Healthcare reimbursement practices are under scrutiny, and payment levels are declining for providers from emergency medical services (EMS)...
Using Mobile Devices for Connected Communication Transforms EMS Dispatch
Dec 28, 2021
4 min read
Co-Written by Mike McKevitt, Director, Product Management
Now Is the Time to Make the Transition to Electronic Charting
Aug 10, 2021
4 min read
N.Y. State 2022 CME Recertification Requirements Signal Shift Toward ePCR
Data Sharing Myth: HIPAA Prevents Bi-directional Health Information Exchange
Aug 9, 2021
4 min read
Misconceptions About HIPAA Have Created an Artificial Barrier to Bi-directional Data Sharing Between EMS and Hospitals
Hosted Computing Eases Orderly Transition to SaaS Solutions
May 26, 2021
4 min read
(5 min read) There are many reasons that business applications are moving to the cloud, or Software as a Service (SaaS) model. One of the...
How To Humanize Data and Empower Every Position in Your EMS Organization
May 20, 2021
4 min read
(6 min read) When was the last time you heard your field-level providers talking about unit hour utilization (UHU), time on task, and other...
Spring Cleaning for Your EMS Billing
May 14, 2021
1 min read
(2 min read) The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more important than ever for EMS agency billers and managers to conduct their annual reviews...
Hospitals Can Improve Patient Outcomes by Using HL7 to Transform Collaboration With EMS
Apr 28, 2021
3 min read
In the unfortunate event that you or a loved one is transported by ambulance to a hospital for emergency care, wouldn’t you want the...
Aggregating COVID-19 Data for a More Holistic View of the Pandemic
ZOLL Data Systems | Apr 20, 2021
(3 min read) In March 2021, Greg Howard, Director of National Interoperability Sales at ZOLL Medical Corporation, and Mario Sanchez, ...
Healthcare Credit Checks Benefit Patients and Providers Alike — So What’s the Controversy?
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Apr 12, 2021
(4 min read) When a patient checks in to see a new healthcare provider, there is the inevitable package of new patient paperwork. Along...
Retroactively Discover, Verify, and Bill Medicaid Coverage for Hospital Encounters
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Apr 5, 2021
(2 min read) In 2019, almost 50% of all insured individuals were insured through employer sponsored plans. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the
5 Timely EMS Billing Tips for Navigating 2021
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Feb 23, 2021
(7 min read) Have you ever lost your glasses only to find them on top of your head? The habit of putting them there has become so routine,...
Are Your Key Performance Indicators Costing You Money? (Part 2)
Brian S. Werfel, Esq., Partner, Werfel & Werfel, PLLC | Feb 19, 2021
Co-written by Scott A. Moore, Esq., Principal, Moore EMS Consulting LLC A Critical Look at How Common KPIs Are Being Used (or Misused) by...
Emotional Strain and Mental Health: Using ePCR Data to Transform the EMS Culture
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 28, 2021
Long shifts, low pay, and repeated, vicarious traumas are givens for paramedics and other EMS professionals. Enduring the physical and...
Implement These Best Practices for Improving Comms Center Performance
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 26, 2021
Step into any dispatch communications center, and you’ll witness a familiar buzz of activity which, to the untrained eye, can look like...
How Emergency Medicine Physicians Can Increase Revenue in 2021 With Medicare PFS Cuts Looming
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 21, 2021
In August 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the proposed Medicare annual payment rule for 2021. This rule...
Reducing Emergency Department Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) in 2021
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 19, 2021
In 2020, emergency department volume reductions and an increase in uninsured patients have caused financial ripple effects through the...
The Cash Pay Lie and Other Costly Realities
ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 15, 2021
In an effort to maintain or increase patient volume and reduce collections costs, physician groups increasingly are offering substantial...
Participating in the ET3 Model? Here’s What You Need to Know About NEMSIS Reporting Requirements
ZOLL Data Systems | Dec 22, 2020
With thousands of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies throughout the U.S., there are inevitably hundreds or even thousands of...
How NEMSIS v3.5.0 Can Propel the EMS Industry Forward
Tim Nowak, Founder & CEO, Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC | Dec 21, 2020
New National Data Reporting Elements for Improving Patient Care and Driving Evidence-based Progress in EMS’ Role in the Healthcare Ecosystem
Emergency Medicine is Facing the Imperfect Storm in 2021
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Dec 17, 2020
The proposed Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) for 2021 increases reimbursement for office and outpatient E/M codes and thereby reduces the...
Billing Medicare and Private Payers for Telehealth Visits: What to Expect Post-Public Health Emergency
ZOLL Data Systems | Dec 14, 2020
The American Medical Association (AMA) and many other organizations are actively advocating for continued support of telehealth...
Using ePCR Bio-Surveillance and Geospatial Data to Improve EMS Operations
Chuck McSweeney, MPS, NR/CC-EMT-P, CMTE, Clinical Business Consultant, ZOLL Data Systems | Dec 2, 2020
From COVID-19 hot spots to opioid overdoses, EMS agencies must evaluate community health data in new ways and more frequently than ever...
Tips for EMS Agencies to Resolve Today's Patient-Pay Accounts
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Nov 24, 2020
Everywhere I go, ambulance providers, billing companies, and billers ask, “Why do patients think that ambulance service is free?” Across...
Data Sharing Myth: HIPAA Prevents Bi-directional Health Information Exchange
Ryan Stark, Esq., Managing Partner, PWW | Nov 17, 2020
Misconceptions About HIPAA Have Created an Artificial Barrier to Bi-directional Data Sharing Between EMS and Hospitals
What’s Next? More EMS Billing in the COVID Environment
ZOLL Data Systems | Nov 13, 2020
Like all other providers in the healthcare ecosystem, emergency medical services (EMS) agencies have been impacted in many ways by the...
New Perspectives Call for New EMS Practices in 2021
Tim Nowak, Founder & CEO, Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC | Nov 2, 2020
Undoubtedly, things have changed as a result of COVID-19. What were once accepted practices are no longer sufficient. EMS agencies must...
Now Is the Time to Make the Transition to Electronic Charting
Christa Lassen-Vogel, Senior Manager, ZOLL Data Systems | Oct 22, 2020
N.Y. State 2022 CME Recertification Requirements Signal Shift Toward ePCR
EMS Billing in the COVID-19 Environment
ZOLL Data Systems | Oct 13, 2020
(2 min read) In April 2020,the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) conducted a survey to assess the early impact...
Look Who’s Paying for Treatment without Transport
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Sep 22, 2020
How Efforts at the State Level Are Blazing the Trail for Community Paramedicine Reimbursement
COVID-19 Workforce Impacts and Data Collection: A Study in Collaboration
New Jersey Association of Paramedic Programs | Sep 9, 2020
(8 min read) In early 2020, the concept of the novel coronavirus was nothing more than a whisper in New Jersey EMS agencies. It was...
Interoperability Has Come a Long Way, but There Is Much to Be Done
Dr. Greg Mears, MD, Medical Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Sep 3, 2020
(8 min read) 2020 has been an interesting year, and at the time of this writing, it’s only September. I am sure the word of the year will...
How to Optimize Revenue Cycle Management Technology: Best Practices from the Experts
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Aug 26, 2020
In a recent report by HIMSS Healthcare IT News, five healthcare revenue cycle technology experts offer perspectives on best practices for...
How to Verify Patient Eligibility Under the HRSA Uninsured COVID-19 Program
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Aug 13, 2020
In early April, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that a portion of the $100 billion CARES Act Provider Relief...
EMS Compliance Lessons from a $10M Medicare Ambulance Fraud Scheme
Christopher Kelly, Esq., Of Counsel, PWW, LLC | Aug 11, 2020
(4 min read) Several recent cases have shown that the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the...
Not Your Traditional EMS Call: Documentation and Billing for Telehealth Consults
Tim Nowak, Founder & CEO, Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC | Aug 6, 2020
(5 min read)
Three Ways Every EMS Agency Should Be Leveraging ePCR Data
Darlene Forney, Customer Onboarding Report Analyst | Aug 4, 2020
Your ePCR is a vast repository of data. So, what are you going to do with it?
Connected Communication Using Mobile Devices Transforms EMS Dispatch
Stephen Frye, Product Owner, ZOLL Respond and ZOLL Road Safety | Jul 30, 2020
Co-Written by Mike McKevitt, Director, Product Management
Leveraging Multiple Data Streams to Accelerate Reimbursement and Enable Agile Operations
Tyler Williams, Director of Strategy, AR Optimization, ZOLL Data Systems | Jul 22, 2020
(7 min read) Consider this scenario: a child enters the hospital emergency department with a broken collar bone, sustained while at play....
How EMS Providers Can Spend CARES Act Relief Funds and Prepare for an Audit
Steve Wirth, Esq., EMT-P, Attorney, PWW, LLC | Jul 14, 2020
Broad HHS Guidance Covers Coronavirus Response and Lost Revenue
Mitigate the Impact of Volume Loss by Optimizing Accounts Receivable
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Jul 9, 2020
Proven Best Practices and Solutions to Effectively Mine Past Accounts Receivable (5 min read) Amid COVID-19, hospitals and providers alike...
The National EMS Assessment: Ten Years Later
Dr. Greg Mears, MD, Medical Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Jul 1, 2020
2020 NASEMSO Survey Reflects Evolution of EMS Industry
Guarding Against (More) Revenue Loss
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Jun 18, 2020
By Maggie Adams
Improve ET3 Outcomes with Information Best Practices and Data Exchange
Tim Nowak, Founder & CEO, Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC | Jun 16, 2020
Innovating Revenue Streams During COVID-19: Four Telehealth Best Practices
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Jun 4, 2020
Written By: Juli Forde (3 min read) As healthcare providers continue to manage unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 crisis, making...
How to Prevent Revenue Loss During COVID-19
Juli Smith, Director, ZOLL Data Systems | May 21, 2020
Unanticipated situations like the COVID-19 crisis present significant revenue challenges for healthcare providers. The path forward can be...
How to Minimize the Operational Impact of MBI and Increase Patient Satisfaction
Ray de la Pena | May 13, 2020
4 Tips for Maximizing Billing During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Mar 26, 2020
(3 min read) Using your software tools to maximize billing efforts during these difficult times may not be top of mind right now, but I...
COVID-19 Patient Documentation to Improve Outcomes and Protect EMS Crews
Chad Hurka | Mar 13, 2020
With COVID-19 cases on the rise, first responders must address a new set of concerns relating to patient care and crew safety. The CDC has...
Three Metrics Guiding Progressive Change within EMS
Tim Nowak, Founder & CEO, Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC | Mar 11, 2020
A look at where we’ve used data in the past and how we’re using it now to improve performance in the prehospital and in-hospital settings.
Four Actionable Takeaways from the First Ambulance HIPAA Settlement
Ryan Stark, Esq., Managing Partner, PWW | Mar 5, 2020
Written By: Ryan Stark
Three Ways for Billing Departments to Handle Financial Hardships
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Feb 19, 2020
Written by: Maggie Adams (3 min read) Self-pay accounts are an ongoing frustration for billing departments. The best billing system can’t...
Five EMS Technology Improvements that Will Shape the Next Ten Years
Tim Nowak, Founder & CEO, Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC | Feb 13, 2020
“The only constant is change,” paraphrasing the ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus. In the world of technological and engineering...
Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers Accelerate Claim Payment
Kelli Turner | Feb 11, 2020
(4 min read) On January 1, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) made the formal shift to the use of Medicare...
Being Paid vs. Being Paid Correctly: The Difference Can Be Costly
Daniel Pedersen | Feb 5, 2020
(4 min read) It’s no secret that being paid for the service you provide is the goal for most ambulance systems. After all, reimbursement is...
5 Blogs from SUMMIT 2019 Speakers to Help Get You Pumped for SUMMIT 2020
Bridget Yoder | Jan 29, 2020
(3 min read) We had a fantastic lineup of speakers at SUMMIT 2019. While we get ready to announce our speakers for 2020, we wanted to look...
The Never Quite Forgotten Compliance Risk
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Jan 22, 2020
(6 min read) Medicare usually pays the largest portion of ambulance claims. But when viewing medical transportation - ambulance combined...
ROI from CQI
Tim Nowak, Founder & CEO, Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC | Jan 15, 2020
(4 min read) CQI involves more than just checking reports to make sure that the “red” went away, it’s a continuous process focusing on...
Time Check on Your Company's Best Practices
Christopher Kelly, Esq., Of Counsel, PWW, LLC | Jan 9, 2020
(4 min read) As we head into 2020, it is a good time to get a check-up. I’m not talking about a trip to your doctor, I’m suggesting a...
Spotlight on SUMMIT 2020’s Keynote Lineup
Bonnie Doyle | Jan 7, 2020
ZOLL is excited to announce our keynote speaker lineup for SUMMIT 2020! The three-day event, scheduled for June 9-11 at the Sheraton in...
6 Simple Cybersecurity Tips for EMS Agencies
Ryan Stark, Esq., Managing Partner, PWW | Dec 11, 2019
(2 min read) EMS agencies are very attractive targets for cybercriminals. But, there are easy steps you can take to better protect your...
Mobile “Interoperable” Healthcare: An Alternative Definition to “MIH”
Tim Nowak, Founder & CEO, Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC | Dec 4, 2019
We’re used to hearing about ‘interoperability’ in terms of communications, but how about its use in information exchange?
Response Times: We Did it to Ourselves (And Now We Need to Change It)!
Tim Nowak, Founder & CEO, Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC | Nov 13, 2019
What response times can tell us (if we gather the data accurately) (5 min read) Nine minutes or less, 90% of the time – or whatever...
Achieving Revenue (Tri)Cycle; Not (Uni)Cycle
Daniel Pedersen | Nov 6, 2019
(3 min read) When people hear the phrase “revenue cycle,” words like "billing," "collections," and "payment" typically come to mind. While...
Accounts Receivable (A/R) Management: Working With Patients and Third-Party Payers
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Oct 31, 2019
(7 min read) The most common question I get is, “Why do our accounts receivable keep growing?” Problems with unpaid claims, denied...
5 Ways to Empower Millennials in the EMS Workforce
Rabecca Sembrat | Oct 22, 2019
(6 min read) Co-Written by Logan Sullivan and Rabecca Sembrat We continue to see research showing that Millennials are the most educated...
How Using Dispatch Protocols Can Avoid Revenue Loss and Compliance Risk
Amanda Stark | Oct 16, 2019
(4 min read) Dispatch is an area that seems to generate a lot of misunderstandings and confusion, especially as it relates to Medicare...
Risk Management: Beyond ‘Checking the Box’
Justin Eberly | Aug 29, 2019
(4 min read) EMS workers carry heavy responsibility time and time again—on a daily basis. Every mile of ambulance operations, their eyes...
Automate these processes to save yourself time in EMS
Reggie Yancey | Jul 30, 2019
(4 min read) He fires the flaming arrow into the void of darkness inside the cave before him. Hercules was not generally considered a weak...
Lessons from EMS HIPAA Audits: 5 Violations We See at (Almost) Every Agency
Ryan Stark, Esq., Managing Partner, PWW | Jul 23, 2019
(5 min read) Our firm has been doing on-site HIPAA audits for over 15 years now and one of the most popular questions we get is: “What are...
Changing EMS Leadership into Lionship
Roger Smith | Jul 18, 2019
(6 min read) Take a moment and reflect on two very fundamental questions you should ask yourself as a leader in EMS. First, why did you get...
Defining and enforcing accountability in EMS
Chris Cebollero | Jul 16, 2019
(6 min read) A few months back I was assisting an organization in their efforts to increase employee engagement and satisfaction. A dirty...
10 Strategies to Avoid Budget-Busting Fines Related to Business Associate Agreements
Rachel Haczewski | Jul 10, 2019
(4 min read) Got room in your budget to pay off a $750,000 settlement simply for not having an up-to-date Business Associate Agreement...
Will After-Market Alterations Leave You Feeling Sheepish?
Justin Eberly | Jul 2, 2019
(3 min read) The sheep-skin strap covers may “look cute and seem soft”, but a Georgia mother now cautions the use of aftermarket products...
MISSION: INTEROPERABILITY: PART 2
Nick Sortin | Jun 12, 2019
(4 min read) Part 2. If you missed Part 1, you can read it here.
Do Your Own Internal Audit to Avoid External Review (and Reduce Denials)
Maggie Adams, President, EMS Financial Services | Jun 5, 2019
(5 min read) Lately it feels like ambulance providers are getting yelled at from Medicare and the OIG at every turn – “Medicare Paid Twice...
How Health Care Fits into the Internet of Things
Ronnie Thomson | May 1, 2019
What is the Internet of things? For starters, the “Internet of things” represents the fact that everything you own can (and will...
In-Premise or Cloud Software for EMS
Corissa Bowman | Apr 19, 2019
(8 min read) Vendors are quick to tell you that cloud-based applications that provide Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products are faster to...
5 Obstacles to EMS and Hospital Interoperability
Rob Humphreys | Apr 2, 2019
As we’ve discussed in earlier posts (What Does Integration into the Healthcare System Look Like for EMS?) realizing the Triple Aim goals of...
EMS Agenda 2050: Leading Us into an Evidence-Based, Data Driven Future
Gam Wijetunge | Mar 26, 2019
Creating the Future
Finding the Right Revenue Cycle Management Vendor
Brittany Frater | Mar 18, 2019
Capturing, managing and collecting revenue is a fundamental aspect of being in business, even if your business is to serve the public. One...
Is Your Leadership Style Enhancing Team Spirit?
Dr. Susan O'Malley | Mar 12, 2019
ZOLL SUMMIT Speaker Series Anyone who has ever worked shift work knows that some shifts are better than others. Many times, the experience...
A beginner’s guide to using EMS data to measure performance
Sean Kukauskas | Feb 12, 2019
ZOLL SUMMIT Speaker Series Let’s put it right out there…data is everywhere! Business and professionals across the globe have gone data...
EMS and Healthcare in 2019: A Glimpse into the Future
Dr. Greg Mears, MD, Medical Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 31, 2019
I hope everyone had a great holiday season and a positive start in this new year.
Leverage the Cloud for Better EMS Data Management
Ronnie Thomson | Jan 17, 2019
Earlier this year, ZOLL hosted a webinar on Operationalizing Data. After the webinar, we asked attendees to share what, if anything, their...
A quick guide to tracking and managing clinical data better in 2019
Dr. Greg Mears, MD, Medical Director, ZOLL Data Systems | Jan 15, 2019
Earlier this year, ZOLL hosted a webinar on Operationalizing Data. After the webinar, we asked attendees to share what, if anything, their...
Collecting, Analyzing and Implementing EMS Billing KPI Data
Renee Collier | Jan 10, 2019
Tracking Metrics in Billing Agencies Earlier this year, ZOLL hosted a webinar on Operationalizing Data. After the webinar, we asked...
Level-up Your ePCR Data Collection and Implementation
Ben Barnett | Jan 8, 2019
Earlier this year, ZOLL hosted a webinar on Operationalizing Data. After the webinar, we asked attendees to share what, if anything, their...
EMS Dispatch Data: Why measure it and how to do it better in 2019
Darlene Forney, Customer Onboarding Report Analyst | Jan 4, 2019
(4 minute read) Earlier this year, ZOLL hosted a webinar on Operationalizing Data. After the webinar, we asked attendees to share what, if...
Get Better at Collecting, Analyzing and Actioning Your EMS Data in 2019
Rob Humphreys | Dec 20, 2018
(4 minute read)
The Most Important Metrics Your Agency Should Be Measuring
Brittany Frater | Nov 13, 2018
“Data is a great four-letter word, but operationalizing it or turning it into actionable intelligence is a key activity for any executive...
August Roundup: The Latest Tech Trends, Security Best Practices for Mobile Devices & More!
Lindsay Alexander | Aug 31, 2017
If you haven’t visited in a while, you’ll notice that the ZOLL Pulse Blog has a brand new look! We hope you find it far more engaging and...
Focusing on Behind-the-Scenes Nuances to Improve Efficiency
Lindsay Alexander | May 25, 2017
Stacey Cloutier has been with Armstrong Ambulance Servicefor 11 years. She is an innovative thinker that focuses on the behind-the-scenes...
Building an Efficient, Yet Lean EMS System
Lindsay Alexander | May 17, 2017
Through dedication, perseverance and expert patience, Alexander Lewinsky, operations manager for JFK EMS, has been instrumental in growing...
The Latest Compliance Tips for Successful EMS Operations
Lindsay Alexander | May 2, 2017
Did you know that medical information is worth at least 10 times more than a credit card number on the black market? It’s shocking, but...
What Really is the Best Way to Achieve Operational Efficiency?
Lindsay Alexander | Apr 4, 2017
Every agency strives to improve the quality and efficiency of their EMS operations. Bonus if they can do so while reducing cost. What is...
Operational Dashboards Turn EMS Data into Actionable Insight
Rob Humphreys | Mar 30, 2017
Last month, we shared six dashboards to improve clinical outcomes. This month, as we focus on operational efficiency, we delve into how...
6 Dashboards to Improve Clinical Outcomes
Rob Humphreys | Feb 23, 2017
Organizations spend so much time and energy capturing data for tasks such as mandatory reporting and monitoring compliance; but successful...
ZOLL Online Helps Smaller Fire & EMS Organizations Improve Efficiency
Larry Malloy | Aug 2, 2013
The needs of smaller fire departments and EMS agencies are often overlooked by technology companies. Software may improve efficiencies and...
How Deep Is Your Data Mine?
Rob Lawrence | Jun 26, 2013
Don’t say you don’t have data. Even the most modest, bare-bones EMS operation has numerical information flowing at it constantly: call...
